What doesn't kill you
by xxRikkexx1
Summary: Mira is a Danish, troubled high school girl who ends up in Minnesota for a year. Here she meets three girls and four guys who in time all become her friends. As their lives intertwine and secrets are revealed the group could be headed for some big time trouble! AU with whump. Rated for language and later on also underage drinking, drug use, violence and sex. ON HIATUS (3/1-13)!
1. Chapter 1: The Choice

**A/N: This story just keeps floating around in my head, so I decided to get it out of my system. Or try to at least. It will contain whump in various ways and severity, underage drinking, drug use, violence and sex. You have now been warned. No slash. Obviously AU. Enjoy :D**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Big Time Rush – wow, what a surprise ;)**

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**Chapter 1: The Choice**

**Aarhus, Denmark:**

"PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE! NOW!" the irate teacher gave Mira a hard push in her back, and then lent a hand to the other girl who was still struggling to get up.

Mira was scowling and spat a mixture of spit and blood on the ground. No one made fun of her mom unpunished! Another push and she started walking towards the office, her heart racing. What was it he had said the last time? "If I have to see you in here one more time…!"

x-x

Principal Jensen looked up as the door slammed open. When he saw who it was, he furrowed his brow and sighed deeply. He pointed at the chair in front of his desk.

"Sit!" he ordered sternly.

Mira crossed her arms and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Look" she started "it wasn't my fault. She made fun of…"

"Sit. NOW!"

She sat down eying the man in front of her. A vein was pulsating in his forehead and his face was turning a nice shade of pink.

"I don't care if she made fun of you or anybody else! You do NOT hit people! I don't want my students fighting, do you understand me?"

Mira pouted and looked down.

"Yes" she answered with as much defiance as she could muster.

Principal Jensen rubbed his chin and looked at the girl in front of him. What could he possibly do to get her back on track? He sighed again.

"Mira, I know you have some personal problems and I…"

She cut him off and blinked a couple of times to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"I don't wanna talk about it. It's not your fucking business!"

"You don't have a choice. And you do NOT talk to me that way! Last time we had a "meeting", I told you I would take matters into my own hands if you started another fight!"

The angry principal found a business card and dialed the number on his phone. Mira leaned back in her chair, not at all happy about where this was going. She knew who he was calling.

"Ms. Winter, hello this is Michael Jensen, Mira Petersen's principal. Yes. Yes, she's been fighting again. Can you possibly join me here today with Mira for a meeting? Great. Yes, that's fine with me. Okay, see you at 3 then."

He hung up and looked Mira in the eyes.

"Your social worker will be here at 3 o'clock, and so will you. Do I make myself clear?"

x-x

Ms. Winter was leaning on the window sill sending Mira a strict look.

"Mira I'm very disappointed in you" she said "another fight! You can't keep doing this or you'll…"

"Yeah I know, I'll throw away my shining bright future if I don't learn to behave! I'm really a smart girl with great potential and blaaah!"

"Loose the attitude, young lady!" her principal barked and slapped the table. "I'm through with your smart mouth. We need a solution to this problem or you'll not be able to graduate from my school!"

Mira felt her pulse go up. Was he going to kick her out now? Ms. Winter cleared her throat and pulled out two pamphlets from her purse. She handed them to Mira.

"New actions have just been introduced in the area considering, shall we say… troubled students, and now you'll get the opportunity to be a part of this new program. So we're gonna give you a choice now, Mira" Ms. Winter said and eyed Mira over her glasses.

Great, Mira thought, now I'm gonna be their social experiment!

"You can either be relocated to Herlufsholm Boarding School here in Denmark for next school year or you can choose a year abroad in Minnesota where you'll be living with a host-family and attending high school. No matter what you choose, you'll be away for one year and then finish high school here – if you pass your classes, that is!"

Mira felt her whole world collapsing in on her. No matter what she chose, she would be ripped away from her mom, her brother and her best friends! An eerie sensation crept up on her.

"What?" she nearly whispered and licked her lips "you can't be serious. That's… Herlufsholm is like a snobby boarding school for rich kids where the older students punish the younger ones! And…and they wear uniforms there! I won't do that!"

"Well, I guess you're going to America then" Principal Jensen stated.

"No" Mira exclaimed "I don't….that's on the other side of the World. What about my mom and my little brother?" And what about me, she thought, but didn't say the last part out loud.

Ms. Winter pursed her lips.

"Go home and talk it over with your mother. Summer vacation starts in little over a week, so you have until next Friday to decide, and then you'll be going to either Herlufsholm or Minnesota at the end of summer."

x-x

Mira sat on her bed, conflicting thoughts whirling around in her head. She closed her eyes and turned up the music even higher. Diamond Drive's somewhat aggressive metal sound enveloped and comforted her in her state of utter frustration. Her mother hadn't reacted well to the news and had ended up crying before Mira left the table. Her brother hadn't said much at all, other than trying to comfort their mother with a few words and a hug.

What was she going to do? If she chose Herlufsholm she would remain in Denmark and could visit her family and friends at weekends, but through the week she would be stuck with a group of spoiled, rich kids who would no doubt give her hell for her personality and background. And she would have to wear a fucking uniform! But if she chose Minnesota she wouldn't be able to see her family or friends for a full year, and she would be completely on her own in a new country with different customs…

A knock on the door ripped Mira away from her thoughts.

"Come in" she yelled and Thomas entered. He jumped on the bed and placed himself next to his sister. She turned the music volume down so they could actually talk.

"You know" Thomas started and sucked in his lower lip "maybe… maybe you _should_ go to Minnesota. It would be like a completely fresh start… you'd get away from all the ghosts of your past, and…"

Mira rolled her eyes.

"The ghosts of my past" she said mockingly, hitting her brother on the shoulder "come on, man!"

"Well I just meant… you know, the girls at school and the fighting… and all that stuff with… Martin."

"Okay, that's enough" Mira shoved her brother unceremoniously off the bed and pushed him to the door "go to bed Thomas, you know I don't wanna talk about…that."

Her brother looked hurt as she slammed the door in his face. Mira turned around and jumped, face down, on her bed. She turned up the music again and covered her head with her arms as the tears started rolling.

x-x

**Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, U.S.A:**

"PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, NOW!" the furious teacher screamed and pointed at the four boys in front of him. Logan looked at the floor feeling his heart racing. Why did he always allow himself being dragged along when it was obvious that things would not end well?!

A suppressed snort of laughter escaped Carlos as he looked at the completely paint-soaked teacher. His giggle made Kendall lose it as well and James wasn't late to follow.

"That's ENOUGH" Mr. Thompson yelled. His eyes were bulging and his face contorted with rage as he wiped some green paint off of his head.

"Move it!" the teacher demanded and grabbed Carlos by the arm. The boys looked at each other, suddenly remembering what Principal Johnson had growled the last time: "If I have to see you in here one more time…!"

x-x

Principal Johnson looked up from his papers as the door opened and Carlos, Kendall, James and Logan entered followed by Mr. Thompson who was covered in green, red and blue paint.

Mr. Johnson raised an eyebrow and felt his face redden. He pointed at Mr. Thompson while eying the boys.

"Explain yourselves!"

They all started defending themselves and Carlos gesticulated wildly with his hands.

"ONE AT THE TIME!" the principal yelled and looked at Kendall.

"Yes, sir. We…we were just… uhm, w-we filled some water balloons with paint, but we weren't gonna throw them on a teacher… or on the walls… or on the trophy showcase. It was an accident!"

Logan hid his face in his hands and Carlos put on his helmet, while Kendall explained what had happened. James just stood there with a rather sheepish expression on his handsome face.

"I have had it with your _accidents_!" Principal Johnson hissed, and slammed a fist down the table making all the boys cringe.

"This time detention alone will not suffice. So I'll give you a choice. You can either get detention for the last week and a half of this school year and the first three weeks of the new year, attend a disciplinary meeting here with your parents this Friday, scrub out the paint from the school and pay for Mr. Thompson's ruined clothes or we can turn this into a police matter about vandalism!"

Their hearts sunk and James looked completely horrified.

"That's really not much of a choice, is it sir?" Logan pointed out in a tiny voice.

Principal Johnson threw Logan an evil smile.

"What will it be then? Option A or option B."

"Option A" all the boys sighed in unison.

x-x

Mr. Thompson disappeared around the corner and James slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor. The other boys joined James, as they waited for the janitor to show up with the cleaning supplies.

"Urgh, this is _so_ bad, guys!" James said and buried his face in his hands.

"Yeah, that totally stunk!" Kendall added.

"But at least we'll be in detention together, right…" the ever-positive Carlos exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face as he once again pictured the paint-covered teacher before his inner eye.

"I gotta get new friends" Logan sighed and looked at the floor.

None of the guys were looking forward to telling their parents about what happened and least of all about the disciplinary meeting the coming Friday. A shiver ran down James' spine as the thoughts of his mother's reaction to the whole thing went through his head.

x-x

James woke up as the annoying alarm clock started beeping loudly. He yawned and rolled to his back to shut up the stupid clock. A lash of pain spread like fire down his back and bottom, and he immediately turned back to his side. He moaned quietly and tried getting out of bed without having to touch anything with his backside.

He winced slightly as the first warm water hit his back, but relaxed and quickly took comfort in the soothing water that poured down on his bruised skin. James didn't really know why he let his mother do this to him. It had been going on for as long as he could remember, and had become a habit that he didn't consider much anymore.

James wiped at the mirror with his wet towel and looked at himself. A somewhat pained look in the beautiful hazel eyes met him, and he studied his backside with a shudder. It looked even worse today! A bunch of blue and red stripes graced his back and bottom and he sighed. Sitting down would _not_ be comfortable today either!

x-x

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**So, this was the first introduction to this story. The next chapters will focus on Mira coming to Minnesota, meeting everybody and settling in. And on what the guys feel about this new tomboy and her rebellious way of behavior. What did you think? Good, bad, boring or…? Please review to let me know :)**


	2. Chapter 2: The Ground rules

**A/N: Just a small warning for language in this chapter. And there is a bit of talk about religion in here as well. I am in no way trying to offend anyone, so please don't take this the wrong way if it seems insulting to you :) Now, on with the story :D **

**Disclaimer: Still, sadly don't own Big Time Rush :( **

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**Chapter 2: The Ground rules**

Mira was chewing on a pencil, looking down on the papers in front of her. She had to fill them in and send them today, in order to be ready for her departure next week.

During the vacation her thoughts on the matter had slowly changed. At first she had been furious about the whole thing. Being forced to leave all the people she loved for a year! Maybe Ms. Winter had called it a choice, but to her it had been something being imposed on her without even hearing her out first!

Even so, choosing Minnesota over Herlufsholm had not been too hard. The thought of her in that ridiculous school uniform that she would be required to wear in the Danish school had been the determining factor. No way in hell would she EVER wear that thing!

A news clip on TV had been another big reason. A large fraction of the biker club Hell's Angels was moving from Copenhagen to Aarhus, and her heart had skipped a beat when she saw Theis being one of the supporters packing down some stuff, getting ready to move. She wouldn't want to be near that guy ever again!

Mira eyed the next question on the paper.

Are you a terrorist? it read, leaving two possible answers, yes or no. Mira felt inclined to answer "yes" just because of the sheer stupidity of the question. Who the hell would ever say yes to being a terrorist if you wanted to go to America?! She discarded the thought, and stated that she was NOT a terrorist.

x-x

"God damn it, we're gonna be late. Step on it!" Mira squealed and made her mother jump in the driver's seat.

"Just relax honey" she answered and increased the speed "it's gonna be fine."

Thomas checked the time. They had to be at the airport in ten minutes and a queue was forming in front of them. Knowing how his hippie-ish, eccentric mother could sometimes be a bit crazy, he grabbed on to the seat in front of him and held on for dear life!

Mira was biting her nails as her mother steered the car to the emergency lane and increased the speed further.

"MOM!" Thomas yelled "this lane is for the police and ambulances in case of emergencies!"

"This _is_ an emergency, sweetie" she replied in a sing-song voice and Thomas sighed as they raced towards the airport.

The car slid to a shrieking halt in front of the airport entrance, hitting the "No parking"-sign in the process. Mira jumped out of the vehicle and started pulling out her suitcase from the trunk. Thomas put on Mira's backpack and they started running.

"Go go go" their mother yelled "I'll be there in a sec."

After checking in and handing over her suitcase in the last minute Mira and Thomas went to the waiting area and sat down.

"So this is it, then" Thomas stated and looked his sister in the eyes.

She nodded and felt a mix of excitement, doubt and guilt whirl in her stomach.

"What's wrong?" her brother asked.

"It's just… I feel kind of guilty for going. You know, it's my fault that we had to move to Aarhus in the first place, and now I'm leaving you! I… it's…"

Mira eyed her shoes.

"Mira, you can't think like this, you know that! And it's not your fault we had to move. It's Theis' fault and all those things that happened…" Thomas sighed and squeezed Mira's hand "everything's gonna be fine. And besides, if it hadn't been Minnesota it had been Herlufsholm…"

She gave him a squeeze back and smiled vaguely. Best brother ever, she thought appreciatively.

A huge mess of wavy, rainbow-colored clothes, clattering bracelets and a mane of brown, curly hair alerted the two teens of the arrival of their mother. She huffed and fell into one of the chairs with another sigh.

"I told you it would be fine" she stated with a crooked smile.

"Right" Mira answered "thanks mom."

"So, first to Copenhagen, then Chicago and finally Minneapolis, okay? You got everything you need for the trip?"

Mira raised an eyebrow and smiled at her rambling mother.

"Ticket, passport, camera, money, music…"

"I'm fine mom. Got everything I need in my suitcase and my backpack" she gestured at the black bag sitting on the floor next to her chair.

Her mother nodded and drifted away in thought for a moment, as Mira reflected on the fact that her whole material life was stored in one suitcase and a backpack.

"Ooh, got your roller blades?" her mother suddenly asked in a concerned voice.

"Yes! And my underwear and my birth control pills and everything else! Just stop, okay… And Anita's gonna stop by the airport in Copenhagen and say goodbye…"

"Okay, okay… Now, you be nice to your host-family and be polite. And _behave _yourself young lady" her mother opened her eyes widely and tried to look strict – she failed miserably.

Just then a voice sounded over the speakers telling all passengers to Copenhagen that the plane was now ready for boarding.

Mira's mom sniffed and wiped away a stray tear, and Mira felt her heart skip a beat. She really was leaving for a year!

Mira gave her brother and mom a huge hug and felt her eyes well up.

"I love you guys" she sniffed and wiped at her eyes. She quickly swallowed the lump in her throat, grabbed her backpack and walked off.

x-x

James was sprawled out on a blanket, slurping at a smoothie and enjoying the sunny weather. Was there anything better than summer vacation? Not likely, he thought and smiled to himself. Too bad there were only two days left of it!

Someone suddenly leaned over him, blocking out the sun and James opened his eyes to see who it was. Logan smiled down at him.

"Hey, man" he said and sat down next to his friend.

"Hey" James answered "so are the girls coming as well?"

"Yeah, I think they'll be here in a minute."

Camille gave Logan a quick peck on the lips and looked back at Jo.

"So, isn't it tonight, that girl is coming?" Camille asked and raised her brows interrogatively.

Jo nodded.

"Yeah. We're gonna pick her up at the airport at 5.30…"

"Where is she from?" James asked, picturing himself completely sweeping this mystery girl off of her feet.

"Denmark" Jo said and gave James an amused glare.

"Is that like the capital of Germany or something?" the pretty guy asked, furrowing his brow.

Logan sighed and looked at his friend.

"No" he stated dryly "it's a small country in Scandinavia. Known for Danish pastries and design and stuff…"

"Scandinavia" James continued slowly "that's in Europe, right?"

Logan slapped a palm to his forehead and nodded.

x-x

Four airports and 15 long hours of travelling! But now she was finally there.

Mira was standing in the airport in Minneapolis waiting for her suitcase to pass by on the luggage belt.

A thousand thoughts went through her head. Minnesota, America! High school! An entire year! Will I make friends! What kind of family will I live with! She swallowed the lump in her throat and grabbed the suitcase as it went by.

Mira walked to the main area of the airport, scouting for her host family. It didn't take her long to spot them. It would appear the whole family was there to get her. A plump blonde woman was standing with a sign that read "Mira Petersen". Next to the woman a tall black-haired man with a stern look was trying to separate two fighting boys. When words didn't appear to work he yanked them up by their arms and gave them both a light smack upside their heads. The boys stopped fighting but scowled at each other and at their father. Mira felt sorry for them, and looked at the fifth member of the family. A girl her own age. She was standing on the other side of her mother, looking down on her phone. Her sandy hair was long and wavy, her clothes airy and in light colors and she wore pink flip-flops on her feet.

I guess we are as different as night and day, Mira thought looking down herself. Her shoulder-long hair was light brown, her outfit consisting of a black, tight t-shirt and a pair of army green baggy shorts and she wore somewhat dirty Vans sneakers on her feet! To top off the difference between the two girls, Mira had a tattoo on her lower left leg depicting a Nordic styled earth knot and a branch with ash leaves.

Mira waved at the family and started walking towards them. They looked somewhat surprised at her, but smiled back none the less.

"Hi, I'm Mira", she said shaking hands with the stern looking man.

"Hello, Scott Taylor", the man said in a deep voice.

He didn't only look stern but also sounded very serious, and Mira couldn't help but think that humor probably wasn't this man's biggest asset.

The woman gave the sign to one of the boys and took Mira's hand.

"Welcome to Minnesota, I'm Rowan" she said warmly.

She pointed at the boys.

"This is Jacob and Jeremy", they smiled and nodded their heads, "and this is Josephine."

The girl looked up from her phone with timid eyes.

"Hey", she said in a low voice.

Mira smiled back and said hi.

x-x

In the car on the way back home, Jo looked at the Danish girl in her boyish skater-like clothes and wondered if they were going to get along – the girly girl and the tomboy. Everything about this girl just seemed…different.

"How do I pronounce your name, again?" Jo asked a bit embarrassed.

"Well I guess you can't pronounce it the way it's really supposed to in Danish, since we enunciate "r" in totally different ways, but it's pronounced almost the same as Meera."

Jo nodded.

"Just call me Jo", she smiled.

x-x

Mr. Taylor parked the car in the drive way and lifted Mira's suitcase to the house, and Jo helped her mother with the groceries. Mira was about to lift a paper bag out of the car when Jacob and Jeremy got in the way and looked at her. The two younger boys hadn't been saying much on the drive home, but now that their dad wasn't breathing down their necks they turned their attention towards the Danish girl.

Jeremy looked at her with awe.

"It's so cool that you have a tattoo!" he stated "what is it?"

Mira smiled at the younger boy.

"It's called an earth knot", she explained, "to me it kind of symbolizes natures "powers" and how we should never forget that nature is so much bigger and stronger than us, and that we should protect it instead of destroying it. It's also an ancient Nordic symbol that protects the wearer from evil. The leaves are ash leaves from the life tree Yggdrasil".

"What is Ygg…Yggdra… whatever you said?" asked Jacob.

"Ah, don't wanna bore you guys with that right now, I think. It's a tree from the Norse Mythology. Let's help your mom and Jo with the rest of the bags, okay?"

The three of them emptied the car and went to the house. Jeremy led the way to the kitchen where they dumped the bags on the kitchen table.

x-x

After getting a tour of the house, being installed in her room and getting some well-prepared dinner, Mira and Jo retreated to Jo's room and sat down on the bed. Mira was eager to know more about Jo and her life. After talking about interests, boyfriends and how school was and when it started, Mira couldn't hold in her thoughts on the topic any longer and blurted out:

"So, do you always say grace?"

Jo looked confused.

"Yes of course", she answered, "don't you do that at home?"

Mira shook her head and wondered if she should in fact say what she was about to. But she decided to be honest.

"No, we don't", she started, "I don't believe in God. Like at all…"

"What, but that's, but… why?" Jo looked puzzled.

"Well, I…" Mira stalled a bit biting her lip, she didn't want to offend Jo and her beliefs, "I just don't see the logic in God and the Bible and all that stuff."

"But it's all in the Bible, and…and. What do you believe in then?"

Mira shrugged her shoulders.

"I believe in science and nature and evolution and that sort of stuff, you know."

Jo nodded, feeling a bit weird. She had never actually met an atheist before, and her father didn't have very nice things to say about said people. She looked up.

"Maybe you should know a bit about my dad then. He is very religious and believes firmly in the Bible. You can't lie, or swear or talk back to him or he'll get a fit. And if I were you I wouldn't mentioning not believing in God!"

"I won't", Mira promised, "the swearing and back talking could prove difficult though. I kind of have an ability to always end up in trouble because of my big mouth. But I'll do my best", she said with a crooked smile.

x-x

Mira went to her room with thoughts swirling in her head, some of them conflicting. Jo, Jacob and Jeremy, and also Rowan, seemed like people she would come to love and have fun with, but Mr. Taylor had a stern and almost cold aura about him that made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. And what Jo had told her about him being so religious and strict didn't bode well for their relationship!

Mira put on her black SkullCandy headphones and turned on her music. She had always been a rock girl, but the past few years her taste had developed and these days it was almost always metal that made her feel good.

Her thoughts tuned in on her ex, Martin. He had more or less introduced her to most of the metal bands she knew and listened to, and their time together had been full of love and laughs and… A single tear rolled down Mira's cheek and she quickly wiped it away, annoyed. This was not the time to think about that!

Just before she fell asleep Mira thought about school. It was just two days away, and from what Jo had told her, it would be quite different from what she was used to in Denmark. Jo had mentioned the mean girls, the jocks and detention as things to look out for. It sounded just like an average teen movie, and Mira had a hard time believing that it would actually be like that.

x-x

The sun was shining and it would no doubt be a hot day. Mr. Taylor mopped at his brow and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Jo, is it you in there?"

The door opened and the boss of the Taylor family looked down at Mira. Her hair was still wet and she had a huge towel wrapped around her entire body.

"I'm done, just let me get my clothes", she said in a shy voice and turned around to pick up her clothes that were scattered on the bathroom floor. When she bent down to get her shorts, her tattoo was exposed and Mr. Taylor pinched his lips.

He was _not_ a fan of teenagers with permanent drawings on their bodies. Especially heathen ones like the one Mira had! So far she seemed like a nice girl though, but Mr. Taylor sensed some attitude problems just below the surface that he would like to adjust during the year to come! It would probably be a good idea to have the talk about rules later that night, thought Scott Taylor and closed the bathroom door when Mira left.

Mira went to the kitchen where Jo and her brothers were already gathered and eating. She sat down next to Jeremy and grabbed some toast and juice.

"So what are we doing today?" Mira asked Jo and put down the glass.

"Well, I thought I'd show you around and then we could go to the park with some friends if you like?" Jo suggested.

Mira nodded "Sure, sounds cool."

x-x

Jo and Mira had already been relaxing at the park for nearly an hour, when three of Jo's friends finally got there. Jo hugged them and introduced them to Mira.

"This is Camille", she said, "we have been best friends since we were little. She is very intense, so watch out for this one!" Jo continued, earning a playful look from the dark-haired girl.

"Hey, be nice" Camille flicked Jo on the arm and extended her hand to Mira, "hi. Don't worry about the intensity - I'm only a _little_ crazy."

Mira smiled and her eyes wandered to the two guys.

"Hi, I'm Logan", said the shortest guy who had dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Camille dragged Logan in for a kiss.

"And he is _mine_", she almost yelled, kissing him again for emphasis.

Mira raised her eyebrows and nodded. So this Camille apparently _was_ a bit crazy!

Jo cleared her throat and her cheeks slightly blushed.

"Uhm" she started, "and this is Kendall."

Mira looked at the boy in front of her, thinking about the things that Jo had told her last night, and thought to herself that they would make a pretty couple. The rather tall guy didn't appear to notice Jo's pink cheeks though, but just smiled at Mira and greeted her with a "Hi". His eyes were piercingly green and deep dimples appeared as he smiled. Mira could certainly understand why Jo found Kendall attractive!

Kendall looked down and spotted Mira's Vans sneakers. He lit up.

"Hey, you're wearing Vans – Old School Edition! You _must_ be cool then…" he said cheerfully with a playful glint in his eyes.

Mira didn't really know how to respond to this completely illogical statement, but she instantly liked the guy, feeling a great friendship could evolve between the two of them.

"Yeah" Logan said "Kendall's got a seriously unhealthy addiction to Vans. Just so you know!"

"Well" Mira responded and smiled at Kendall "they _do_ make the coolest sneakers ever."

x-x

Mr. Taylor gently pushed the two girls into his office and closed the door. He motioned them to sit and they did so without hesitation.

"Girls", he said rubbing his hands, "I think it's time to lay down some ground rules here. Of course Jo you know them already, but Mira they are obviously new to you."

Jo cleared her throat, and looked intensely at her feet. Mr. Taylor started enumerating at high speed.

"No smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no sex, no swearing! No back talking – neither at home nor at school! Out on school nights, be home by 10.00 p.m, out on Fridays and Saturdays, be home by 11.30 p.m. Are we clear?"

Jo nodded in acceptance but Mira looked at the man in front of her in disbelief. 10.00 and 11.30! Jesus Christ almighty!

"Can I ask you something, Mr. Taylor?"

The tall man looked at Mira with furrowed eyebrows.

"What if there's a party. Do we still have to be home this early? And what if I, by mistake, forget to follow the rules? There are so freaking many of them!"

"Yes you do", he answered with a sigh and rubbed at his temples, "and if you break my rules you _will_ be punished! As Jo has probably told you I'm a firm believer of discipline, and I don't much care for your attitude young lady!"

Mr. Taylor leaned over Mira and looked her right in the eyes. She cowered back from the intrusion of her private space.

"Are we clear?" the strict man asked in a low voice.

Mira swallowed her spit and nodded, feeling her cheeks blushing slightly. Her mother's words suddenly echoed in her head: be nice, be polite and behave!

"We're clear, Mr. Taylor" she said, a gnawing feeling already evolving in the pit of her stomach.

This would probably not end well!

* * *

**I apologize for the small amount of the boys in this chapter. They will appear more in the next ones though :) **

**So, the ground rules have been laid down! Quite strict from a typical, Danish point of view. How do they seem to you? **

**Review pretty please :D**


	3. Chapter 3: The first day of school

**A/N: Will the first day of school run smoothly? Probably NOT o.O **

**Big thanks to CrumpetCapers for reviewing the story. And a huge shoutout in your direction for being totally awesome and for being such a great and inspirational writer :) You rock \m/ **

**Seriously people, if you haven't read her stories already, hurry to her site after you finish this chapter and get to it, they're amazing :) **

**Missing in Motion: Dealing with such a dark and heartbreaking subject.**

**Ship me a Shamrock: Awesome and makes me laugh every time for being so far out :D**

**And of course Slate's Acres: The most addictive and PERFECT fanfic I have EVER read!**

**And all of them contain a huge amount of whump, YAAAY ;P **

**Also thanks for the pm's and thank you to TaylorCammieBell for putting an alert on this :) **

**Now, on with the story…**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Big Time Rush today either, damn…**

**Now, seriously, on with the story! **

* * *

**Chapter 3: The first day of school**

Camille swallowed her last bite of pizza and sent Logan an investigative gaze. He raised an eyebrow and looked back at his girlfriend.

"What?" he slowly croaked after almost choking on a piece of pizza.

"So" Camille cooed "how did you like the new girl?"

Kendall's mouth shaped an "O" and his eyes were full of laughter.

"Oho, tread carefully now, dude…"

"She seemed cool enough" Logan answered as he grabbed his coke and took a sip "you know, the kind of girl who is true to herself, I like that…"

Camille's eyes narrowed a bit.

"But!" Logan quickly continued "absolutely not my type. I prefer girls with dark, wavy hair, brown eyes and the name Camille Roberts."

"Awww" Camille exclaimed and gave Logan a long kiss, while Kendall snickered to himself.

When Camille pulled back, Logan's face had gone red from the lack of oxygen, and he greedily sucked in some air.

"I liked her too" Camilla said tilting her head to the side "but I think there was something she didn't tell us…"

"Camille, we only just met her. Of course she didn't tell us everything there is to know. How much did _you_ get to tell her about yourself?" Kendall asked, eying the dark-haired girl.

She shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

x-x

Kendall opened his eyes, moaned and then gave the alarm clock a hard smack to shut it up. 6:55. Summer vacation was over and today was the first day of school. He mumbled something to himself and rolled over to his side. Ten minutes later his mom was yelling for him from downstairs.

"Kendall, breakfast! Now…"

He opened his eyes again and rubbed his forehead. Why couldn't the vacation last just ONE more week?!

With a sigh he rolled out of bed and put on his clothes. He went to the bathroom and fixed his hair before dragging himself down the stairs.

His mom had made waffles and the table was set with juice, fruit and toast as well. Katie was already sitting down eating a waffle and reading the paper. Probably the stocks and bonds! That girl was strange for her age!

Kendall ruffled her hair and she gave him a hard blow to the arm, sending him a poisonous glare.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, "take it easy baby sis! Dude…"

Kendall rubbed his arm. What the hell was up with her? Granted, she could be somewhat violent, but usually she had her reasons.

"Kendall, the school bus will be here in five minutes. Don't wanna be late for first day of junior year."

"Not taking the bus", he said, munching on his waffles, "James is picking me up."

"Oh, right, he's got a license now" Mrs. Knight said to herself and sighed "you guys grow up way too fast!"

x-x

James looked in his small mirror again, sending the reflection a dazzling smile, before tugging the mirror away in his backpack.

He went downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of cereal. When his mother walked in, an involuntary shudder went through James.

"Good morning baby" his mother sang and smiled her big perfect smile that never reached the eyes.

"Morning" James answered in a hushed voice.

He never liked when his mother seemed this happy for no reason. Brooke Diamond approached her son and leaned over him.

"Is my perfect boy ready to drive to school?" she asked.

"Mmm-hmm" James nodded.

Brooke narrowed her eyes.

"I trust there will be no trouble at school today, right? You'll behave…"

"Perfectly" James finished the sentence for his mom and jumped up to get away from the awkward feeling that pulsated through him.

James rested his head on the steering wheel for a moment and took a deep breath. Perfect! That had to be the word he hated the most in this World!

James turned the ignition and pushed away his dark thoughts. He didn't have to see his mother for the entire day, and even if detention was a contributing factor to this, he welcomed the thought.

When the music from the radio reached his ears, his thoughts drifted off completely, and the gnawing feeling in his stomach vanished.

James smiled at his reflection in the rearview mirror and pulled out the driveway to go pick up Kendall and Logan.

Everything was going to be fine. And hopefully he would get a glimpse of this new girl, living with Jo. He couldn't help but hope that she would be a picture-perfect Nordic beauty, with blonde hair, blue eyes and big boobs. And of course that she would be nice and sweet as well!

x-x

Carlos was moon walking his floor with a piece of toast hanging out his mouth. The music was loud and as he sang along he started shaking his butt to the beat.

"Teach me how to dougie, teach me, teach me how to dougie. Teach me how to dougie, teach me, teach me how to dougie. All my bitches love me, all my, all my bitches love me. All my bitches love me, you ain't fuckin' with my dougie."

When he turned around he saw his mother in the doorway, roaring with laughter.

"MOM!" Carlos yelled indignantly, feeling his face redden.

Sylvia Garcia composed herself and raised an eyebrow at her son.

"I don't think your father would approve of the language in this song" she said with a crooked smile and handed Carlos his helmet.

His face lit up in a childish grin and he quickly slapped on the helmet.

"There you were" he exclaimed happily and gave the helmet a clap.

"Get ready and get to school on time. It's the first day after all" Carlos' mother said sounding a bit stern.

"Well, I've got detention already, so who cares if I'm a bit late?" Carlos mumbled to himself, but got ready nonetheless and left the house on his skateboard.

He reached the neighbor's neighbor before his mother came running from the house screaming for him with something dangling from her right hand:

"Carlitos, your backpack!"

x-x

Mira was standing next to Jo, putting her things in her locker. They had just toured the school with Principal Johnson so Mira knew where everything was located. Just before she was about to turn around, Jo grabbed her shoulder tightly.

"Oh no", she said, almost inaudibly.

"What?" Mira turned around and saw three girls coming down the hallway.

They wore short skirts, tight pink shirts and high heels. Obviously the mean girls! When they reached Mira and Jo they stopped.

The girl in the front gave Jo a hard shove so she crashed into her locker with an "oorf". Jo rubbed her shoulder in pain and looked down.

"So, Josephine", said the girl in a mocking voice, "who is your new friend?"

"What's it to you?" Mira interrupted and crossed her arms. Her anger was already flaring.

"Ooh, feisty! Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Mira", she said, "and I'd appreciate it if you asshole left my friend alone."

The girl looked at Mira with a dark glint in her eyes. She poked her in the chest.

"No one talks to me that way, if they know what's good for them. You'll get another chance since you're new here, but if it happens again…"

She let the threat linger and flipped her hair as she turned around, continuing down the hall with the other girls.

Mira lifted her eyebrows and couldn't believe these stereotypical girls were actually for real. She turned to Jo, who was still eying her shoes.

"Jo, why don't you stand up for yourself? She's just an insecure bitch."

"You don't know Jennifer like I do", Jo said quietly, "she can be so mean."

The bell rang, and the two girls went to the first class of the day.

x-x

The teacher closed the door with a loud bang that made everybody quiet down. Mira was in a chair behind Jo, almost in the back of the room. The teacher walked to the desk and put down her briefcase. She had her hair in a tight bun and wore a gray skirt, a gray jumper and gray heels.

"Good morning Ms. Grey" the class chanted.

Coincidence much? thought Mira and snickered to herself. After the pledge of allegiance, Ms. Grey furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the teenagers. As she made eye contact with Mira, she pinched her lips slightly.

Then she pointed at her.

"You must be the new girl from…" she looked down her sheet of papers "… Denmark? Won't you stand up and tell us a bit about yourself?"

Mira cleared her throat shyly and stood, noticing how both the students and Ms. Grey looked at her baggy shorts and dirty Vans, not to mention her tattoo.

"Uhm, hi", she started, "I'm Mira, I'm 17 and I live with Jo and her family. I'll be here for junior year and then go back home for the last year of high school. As Ms. Grey said I'm from Denmark, and I guess my country is best known for Hans Christian Andersen, Danish pastries and being the first country in the World to legalize porn…"

Low giggles erupted from around the classroom and a big blonde guy turned to face Mira.

"When was it legalized?" he asked.

Mira couldn't hide a crooked smile as she looked at the guy and snickered:

"In '69…"

The blonde guy let out a small grunt of laughter, but piped down after one strict look and a hiss of "Quiet down, Jett" from Ms. Grey. The teacher cleared her throat and sent Mira a piercing glare that made her sit back down immediately.

Ms. Grey then nodded and turned to the rest of class with a stern look.

"I hope you will all be nice and welcome Mira to our school, and make her feel comfortable", she said, not sounding too nice herself.

Mira slid further down in her seat, a bit embarrassed. As Ms. Grey started teaching, Mira scanned the room of new people. To her right sat an antsy guy wearing a helmet on his head. That had to be Carlos Garcia that Jo had told her about. Happy-go-lucky, naïve and always getting in trouble! He seemed to have major trouble sitting still, and was bouncing his leg up and down while playing with his pencil.

On her other side a rather tall, tanned guy sat, slumped in his chair. Mira couldn't deny the fact that he was very hot, but he kept combing his brown hair when Ms. Grey looked down her book, and Mira found that rather ridiculous. She couldn't help but think that he was ten times more girly than she was!

A couple of rows further up the classroom Jennifer sat, putting on more lip gloss. Mira kept thinking of ways to annoy her and figured that her appearance would be her weak spot.

x-x

James felt disillusioned and sent Mira a sideways glare. She was so different from what he had pictured! He had never quite understood the whole tomboy-thing and this girl could almost not be any more tomboy-ish. Granted, she wore mascara, black eyeliner and a tight shirt, but the leather bracelets, the baggy shorts, the Vans and that rather large tattoo were not exactly girly. And James liked girly!

He pulled out his lucky comb and straightened the already perfect hair as Ms. Grey looked away.

A quick thought of what his mom would think about Mira, came and went, and James smiled to himself. Bringing a girl like this home to his mother would be a laugh!

x-x

For a time Mira focused on her paper, but quickly lost interest and started daydreaming. Suddenly she heard something fall to the floor and turned around. The guy who was probably Carlos, had dropped his pencil. At the same time he and Mira leaned down to get it and banged their heads together.

"Ow!" Mira exclaimed and rubbed her head.

The guy smiled at her.

"Sorry 'bout that. I'm…"

"Carlos, will you be _quiet_! And remove your helmet, it's not hockey but English class."

Carlos took off his helmet with a slight pout.

As Ms. Grey looked away, Mira handed the pencil to Carlos.

"Here", she smiled, "what's with the helmet anyways?"

Carlos was just about to answer when Ms. Grey banged her pointer down the desk, and looked at Mira and Carlos.

"Well Mira, I don't know how it is in school in Denmark, but here in my class you'll be quiet and do as you're told unless you want detention!"

She threw Mira a sour look.

"Sorry", she said, "but I was just handing him his pencil. How can that possibly annoy you?"

An "ooh" went through the classroom, and Jo turned towards Mira shaking her head slightly. Mira felt her cheeks blush as Ms. Grey went down the rows and stopped right in front of her.

"Now, that is _no_ way to address a teacher! Last warning."

She pointed at Mira, who bit her lip and looked down. She could feel the other students staring at her.

x-x

The bell rang and Mira and Jo quickly left the classroom.

"Seriously, you can't talk to teachers like that", Jo said, "you'll end up in detention. On the first day!"

At the lockers Mira bumped in to Carlos again. It turned out he and Mira were locker neighbors. He gave his helmet a clap and smiled at the girls. Then he looked down at Mira's tattoo.

"What does it mean?" He asked.

Mira explained the meaning of the earth knot and the ash leaves while gesturing with her hands.

"Didn't it hurt though", asked Jo.

"Nah, not too bad", Mira answered, "it was more like a "just go away"-kind of feeling, if you know what I mean. Like an annoying thing you want to leave… Like Jennifer!" She said with a mischievous smile.

At that exact moment Jennifer passed them and heard Mira's comment. She gave Mira a hard push in the back, so she had to make a weird jump not to fall into Carlos. Her anger flared again and Mira turned around quickly.

"What the hell is your problem?!" She yelled giving Jennifer a shove in the chest.

Wearing high heels was not an advantage in a fight, and Jennifer stumbled backwards. A small crowd was already gathering around the two girls.

Jo had momentarily lost her ability to act, and all that went through Carlos' head was "catfight", his eyes darting from one girl to the other.

Jennifer regained her balance and jumped on Mira with her nails, scratching wildly at her face while screaming in a girlish tone.

Mira grabbed Jennifer's shoulder, took a step to the side and hooked her leg. With a push to the other shoulder Jennifer went crashing down and looked up at the Danish girl, with murder in her eyes.

"You bitch!" She screamed and raved around trying to get up.

Mira lunged herself on the other girl and quickly smacked her on the nose with an open palm. The crowd was cheering, but Jo suddenly woke up from her trance. She pushed herself through the circle of people and yelled at Mira.

"Mira, just stop. You'll be in so much trouble! My dad's gonna go mental on you."

Mira looked up at Jo and was actually going to leave Jennifer alone – until said girl punched her hard in the gut. With an "oorf" Mira turned around and raised a fist.

Tears started pouring down Jennifer's face as the clenched fist hit her hard on her cheekbone. Mira was raising her fist again, when the crowd suddenly scattered and a male teacher pushed his way to the fighting girls. He grabbed Mira by the back of her collar and yanked her harshly to her feet.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" He yelled and looked from Mira to Jennifer.

Both girls started explaining what had happened, but the teacher cut through them with ice in his tone.

"Follow me, BOTH OF YOU. NOW!"

Jennifer got to her feet and followed the teacher who held Mira by the scruff of her neck. Carlos and Jo and two of Jennifer's friends came running down the hall and caught up with the others.

"Mr. Thompson", Carlos started, "Mira was just protecting herself. Jennifer shoved her first…"

"Mr. Thompson", interrupted one of Jennifer's friends, "Jennifer didn't even hit her, and Mira slammed her to the ground and hit her twice!"

"Fuck off you liar", Mira tried to turn around and look at the girl but Mr. Thompson gave her neck a hard pinch that made her groan in pain.

"We do NOT use that kind of language here at this school! And Carlos, if this girl is a friend of yours I guess the whole thing was just an _accident_!" Mr. Thompson said, the words seething with sarcasm.

That statement was completely unfair, but Carlos looked at the floor and didn't know how to respond.

x-x

They reached the principal's office and Carlos, Jo and the two other girls were left outside the door to wait.

Mr. Thompson pushed Mira through the door that read "Principal Johnson" and pointed at a chair, before he told the principal about the fight and the use of the f-word.

Mira and Jennifer both sat down and looked at the man behind the desk. He looked back at them angrily, and noted to himself that one girl sported a black eye and had a bloody nose while the other one only had a red scratch on her cheek. He didn't doubt who would have won the fight had they not been stopped.

"It's the first day of school and here you are already?" He exclaimed and furrowed his eyebrows.

Then he pointed at Jennifer.

"You first! What happened?" He demanded.

"Well, I was just walking down the hall when I heard Mira making fun of me, calling me names, and then she attacked me…"

Large tears started falling from Jennifer's eyes, and Mira felt her stomach twist and turn. This Jennifer-girl might be a bitch, but she could definitely make puppy dog eyes and cry on command.

"That's not true", Mira interrupted, "you pushed me first…"

"Who threw the first punch?" asked Mr. Johnson.

"Well", Mira said in a low voice, "I guess I did… but I…"

The principal cut through her.

"Ms. Petersen! It's your first day here, and you're already fighting and swearing! Maybe you are not familiar with our rules yet, but I seriously doubt it's considered okay to fight at school in Denmark?!"

"No", Mira looked down feeling her face heat up.

Why did she always have to get in trouble! Her entire life had been like that. Even if she hadn't done anything she would get yelled at, because the teachers assumed that she was the brain behind the pranks, was the one to talk in class or the one to tease the smaller kids.

Principal Johnson brought his clenched fist down on his desk so his coffee mug danced.

"No, WHAT?" He yelled.

Mira jumped in her seat and looked up.

"No, _sir_"_, _she answered with slight sass in her voice.

She had been prepared that she would have to start calling her teachers Mr., Mrs., and Sir, but since you didn't do so in Denmark she felt weird about it.

"Two weeks detention for both of you", Principal Johnson said dryly and pointed at the girls, "and consider yourselves lucky that it's the first day of school and that I'm in a good mood!"

Jennifer and Mira got up to leave, but when they reached the door Mr. Johnson cleared his throat, making the girls turn around.

"And Mira", he said, "you should know that I now have my eye on you! And next time you get in trouble, I will have no choice but to call Mr. Taylor and inform him of your bad behavior."

"You gotta be shitting me!" Mira mumbled to herself without thinking.

Mr. Johnson's eyes narrowed, and he gave the table another whack with his balled up fist.

"What was that?" He asked threateningly.

"Nothing, sorry sir, I didn't…"

"Just get out of here before I change my mind!"

Mira flew out the door and made the secretary look up from her computer. Outside in the hallway Jo and Carlos still waited. Jennifer left with her two friends, sending Mira a gloating look.

"Two weeks detention", she sighed when she saw their curiosity.

"Well I guess that's okay, considering what could have happened."

Jo shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"He said that if I got into any more trouble he would call your dad…"

"Well then don't get into more trouble", Jo said plainly.

Easier said than done, thought Mira. Jennifer knew that she would be in severe trouble for fighting or swearing again, and would no doubt use that knowledge to her own advantage!

x-x

Mira was paired with the hot, vain guy in Biology class and learned that his name was James Diamond. The last of the guys Jo had told her about the other night. This one being the pretty boy, somewhat shallow and vain but extremely loyal to his friends! To Mira the four guys were an odd match. They were very different from one another, but apparently stuck together like glue.

For James and Carlos that statement could actually be taken quite literally, seeing as they once had succeeded in gluing their hands together!

James looked at the frogs in one of the fish tanks and turned towards Mira. He threw her a dazzling smile.

"What's green, spinning really fast and turning red?" he asked.

Mira raised an eyebrow. That joke had to be old enough to use a cane!

"A frog in a blender!" James exclaimed and made jazz-hands down the length of his face.

Mira couldn't help but giggle.

"Very original" she stated dryly.

Kendall turned around and leaned on Mira while looking at James.

"And this has been "The philosophical corner" with James Diamond…"

"Mjahaha, very funny" James said ironically.

x-x

Logan bent over his homework and focused on the math. Might as well use detention to get this done!

He was quickly lost in thought over a complicated problem and Carlos had to throw a balled up piece of paper on his head to get his attention. Logan looked up, annoyed, and threw a glance at the teacher to see if he would get in trouble. Then he sent Carlos an asking look.

His helmet clad friend held up his notebook.

"Got any food? I'm hungry :)"

Logan sighed and turned his attention back to math. He really needed new friends!

Carlos then turned his attention towards James, who discretely handed him a Snickers, before the two of them started a game of Tic Tac Toe on their notebooks.

Kendall was sitting at a desk next to Mira and after passing a bunch of notes about their taste in music and movies, they started discussing shoes. Or more specifically Vans! Kendall apparently had more than 15 pairs and aimed to own all styles and colors when he started earning a bit more money. Kendall looked at Mira's shoes and bent over his paper, before holding it up for her to read.

"Damn, your feet are TINY"

She smiled and shook her head.

"Wrong! Yours are fucking GIGANTIC :P"

Kendall slipped off one of his size 11,5's and pushed it across the floor to Mira, who managed to take off her own size 6,5 and put on Kendall's. It looked ridiculous and they both started laughing silently at the almost disturbing sight.

Carlos looked up just to see Mira wildly tapping a foot wearing an enormous Vans, and a loud laugh escaped him before he clasped his hands over his mouth.

The teacher looked up and Mira quickly tucked her foot under the table.

"What's going on here?" the teacher demanded and stood up.

"Nothing, Mrs. Drokes" Kendall answered, and the aging teacher sat back down with one last strict look on the group.

x-x

Having called shotgun, Carlos got in the front seat which left Mira, Logan and Kendall in the back. James turned on the music and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Teach me how to Dougie" was playing loudly as the car reached Jo's house. Just as Mira opened the door, Mr. Taylor walked to the porch and crossed his arms.

"Wow" Carlos exclaimed "he does NOT look happy!"

"Shit" Mira mumbled and looked at the boys in the car "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow…"

* * *

**A bit long I know, but hey...**

**So…review? **


	4. The soap, the whack and the smack

**A/N: Yay, got a new computer so I could finally write down this chapter :) **

**As usual the ever-present warning about language...**

**An explanation for the danish letters used in this chapter: æ is pronounced like the vowel-sound in the english word "hey" and å is pronounced like the vowel-sound in the english word "oh" :) **

**Again huge thanks to CrumpetCapers for your awesome review and also big thanks to Jaime for your reviews. They mean a lot! **

**As usual I don't own Big Time Rush...**

**Enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The soap, the whack and the smack**

Carlos watched as Mr. Taylor grabbed Mira by the arm, and harshly yanked her to the house. Just before the door closed, he heard him yell:

"Get to the office, NOW!"

"Ugh man, sounds like she's in trouble!" Carlos exclaimed.

"Yeah well, she got into a fight on the first day of school and she said fuck in front of a teacher! Mr. Taylor is quite religious you know, so he's probably offended by that language." Logan said and shrugged his shoulders.

x-x

Mira found herself being dumped rather unceremoniously on the office couch and she looked up at Mr. Taylor with trepidation. Not happy was an understatement! He looked absolutely furious with a face the color of a beet root and slits for eyes.

"It's the first day of school and you got detention for fighting and swearing! Didn't you listen at all when I told you about the rules of this house?!"

"Yes sir, but... the fight wasn't really my fault and...I... You know it's really hard for me not being allowed to say fuck and stuff since..."

"Don't you EVER repeat that profanity in this house, ever again!" Mr. Taylor yelled and started pacing in front of Mira.

"What do you expect me to do with you?"

"I don't know" Mira mumbled "but, you know, I didn't plan for the fight to happen, alright?"

"No it's not alright!"

This girl sure was something else. The remorse he saw in her eyes seemed to be fear of punishment and not being truly sorry for her actions.

Mr. Taylor decided to give Mira a scare to see, if that would be enough to change her behavior. He went to the desk and opened the top drawer. As he pulled out the paddle, Mira visibly cringed. That was good!

Mira swallowed hard and felt her cheeks redden. Surely he didn't mean to... Mr. Taylor slammed the paddle down the desk with an enormous whack, that made Mira flinch and slide even further down the couch, as if to protect her backside!

"Y-you can't be serious...I'm not your kid, you can't do that to me!"

"Oh I can. And I will! I'm your legal guardian for the next year, and since you live under _my_ roof you follow _my_ rules. That also means you _will_ be punished as _I_ see fit!"

"Fuck!" Mira mumbled before she could stop herself.

Mr. Taylor slowly put the paddle down on the desk.

"What did you just say?" He asked in a low voice.

Mira's eyes darted around the room and she felt her heart race in her chest.

"I...I...sorry?"

"Get the soap from the bathroom."

Mira looked completely bewildered.

"What?"

"I said, get the soap. NOW!"

Mira jumped up from the couch and raced to get soap. Jo stuck out her head from her room and looked at Mira.

"The soap?" she asked and Mira nodded.

"Just try holding it in as long as possible, and lean forward a bit so the spit can run out."

Mira blinked a couple of times, thinking of Jo's advice. What was wrong with these people?! She had certainly never experienced anything like the punishment she was about to receive. Come to think of it, the worst that had happened to her was getting grounded. Parents were prohibited from hitting their children in Denmark and Mira had never heard of anyone having to hold piece of soap in their mouth either! Usually her mom just yelled a bit before they talked about what had happened, and discussed how future, similar situations should be handled.

Mira grabbed the soap and quickly went back to the office where Mr. Taylor was waiting by the desk. He pointed to one of the corners of the room.

"Face the corner" he demanded.

Mira obeyed and went to the corner.

"Put the soap in your mouth!"

She obeyed again. After a few moments the soap mixed with her spit and a foul taste of lavender spread in her mouth. She leaned forward and let some of the spit drip to the floor without Mr. Taylor noticing.

The gag reflex set in a few times but luckily she didn't vomit. After what felt like forever Mira's eyes were watering and she couldn't hold in the soap anymore! She pulled out the soap, but immediately received a hard swat on her bottom, that made her put the soap back in.

"Did I say you could take it out?!"

Mira shook her head. This was so humiliating!

After a few moments Mr. Taylor finally let Mira remove the piece of soap. She coughed violently and raced to the bathroom to wash out the disgusting taste in her mouth.

Mr. Taylor entered the bathroom and Mira looked at him.

"You're grounded for a week! And if you ever pull a stunt like the one you did today, I won't hesitate to show you what the paddle can really do!"

x-x

Kendall was racing down the hallway to get to class. Last Friday he and the guys had finally had their last detention of the three week punishment they had received, and he wasn't in a hurry to land a new one already!

Kendall was getting close to the right room, but just as he turned the corner he slammed into someone, and they both stumbled backwards. Books and paper went flying through the air, and the other person sighed deeply:

"Crap!"

The voice made Kendall look up. It was a girl. A hot girl! She had dark hair with red streaks in it, beautiful brown eyes and she wore an outfit typical for a rock girl.

"I, uh" Kendall started with a stupid expression plastered on his face "I'm sorry..."

"Nah, it's okay... Can you maybe point me in the right direction to chemistry class? I'm Lucy by the way. Lucy Stone."

"I'm Kendall" he said and pointed down the hallway.

"Thanks. See you around Kendall" Lucy said with a smile and picked up her books before walking down the hall.

Kendall smiled sheepishly to himself and felt his legs wobble. Damn! He snapped out of the Lucy-induced trance and hurried to class.

x-x

Carlos was drawing on his notebook in the back of the classroom. "El hombre del flaming space rock man" was coming along great, and Carlos drifted off to a world of superheroes.

Just as Carlos was about to save the damsel in distress, the pointer smacked down right in front of him and he was abruptly pulled back to the classroom! Ms. Grey yelled something at him before pinching her lips.

"Uh, what?" Carlos asked in a tiny voice.

Ms. Grey sent him a strict gaze that made him slid further down his chair with blushing cheeks. Ms. Grey then turned her attention towards Mira at the desk next to Carlos'.

"You answer the question then Mira" she said.

Mira swallowed a lump in her throat. She and Ms. Grey hadn't exactly developed a friendly relationship thus far!

"I don't know the answer."

Ms. Grey furrowed her brow and shook her head slightly.

"Well then, perhaps you should pay some more attention in class Mira!"

The anger was already waking up in her chest, but Mira looked at her desk and held her tongue. At least until Ms. Grey had turned around. Then she stuck out her tongue at the teacher and mumbled:

"Eller også er du en dum kælling, der ikke kan lære fra dig!"

Ms. Grey whipped around and eyed Mira who smiled innocently at her.

"Did you just call me a stupid bitch, who can't teach?!" she asked.

In Danish! Not perfectly, but definitely in Danish!

Mira's heart rate accelerated to the extreme and she felt her face go red. Fuck, shit and fuck again!

Jo, along with the rest of class, looked confused. No-one understood what had been said, but everyone could see, that Mira was in trouble.

Just then the bell rang and 26 chairs were pushed back with loud creaking noises.

"Mira, you'll stay behind with me!" Ms. Grey slithered with an evil glint in her eyes.

Mira sent Jo a helpless glare as her friends left the room.

Ms. Grey took a long step towards Mira, who retreated an equally long step backwards. She hit a desk and leaned on it for support.

"Don't you EVER speak that way to me again! Do you understand me?"

Mira nodded frantically. She understood perfectly!

Ms. Grey raised her arm and slapped Mira across the cheek with a loud smack. She rubbed the red cheek with the back of her hand and looked at her teacher.

"You...you can't do that" Mira said indignantly.

"Right! Well we'll just visit Principal Johnson and have him call Mr. Taylor then!"

"NO!" Mira cried, thinking of the punishment Mr. Taylor had promised her in case of further trouble.

"Well dismissed then!" Ms. Grey sneered.

Mira grabbed her backpack and quickly left the room.

x-x

She found her friends in the cafeteria and they eyed her red cheek.

"She smacked you?!" James asked incredulously.

Mira sent him and ironic glare.

"No, I just fell down on my hand with my face! YES, she hit me..."

James raised his eyebrows at the outburst and looked away.

"I'm sorry James" Mira apologized "I guess I'm just a bit shocked"

"Well you have to report this!" Logan said plainly, shooting a glance at the red hand print.

Mira shook her head.

"No, Johnson's gonna call Jo's dad, and that'll be a million times worse than a slap..."

Jo looked uncomfortably at her food as the four boys looked at each other.

"What could be worse than getting smacked by your teacher?" Carlos exclaimed naïvely.

"Carlos..." Kendall said in a low voice.

"What?" the helmet-wearing boy asked innocently.

Mira licked her lips and looked at Jo before turning her attention to Carlos.

"He'll... he'll hit me even worse!"

"Your father hits you?" James threw Jo an investigative gaze.

"Uhm" she said feeling weird "well, yeah. He's pretty old-fashioned in that area. But he hasn't hit me since I was like 10!"

"But he _will_ hit _me_!" Mira added "so I won't report this Logan. Let's just eat and forget the whole thing!"

They all ate for a while, thinking of what to say. Kendall suddenly lit up and in details told about the hot girl, Lucy, he had bumped into. Now Jo felt as if she had been slapped as well! After a minute of silence Carlos couldn't wait any longer.

"What did you _say_ to Ms. Grey?"

Mira looked at Carlos with a guilty look in her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Well, I said that she was a stupid bitch who was no good at teaching."

A collective "oooh" sounded from her friends and she sent Carlos a small crooked smile.

"Yeah, I guess I kind of deserved it... And it's definitely better getting slapped than getting paddled!

Jo looked completely horrified that anyone would say something like that to a teacher, and Mira shifted her focus to James who had a look on his face that she couldn't quite decipher. Was it... understanding?

She was ripped from her thoughts as Jennifer walked up to the table and cleared her throat.

"Oh, someone got in twouble again!" she mocked in a baby voice.

Mira inhaled and got up from her chair. A strong hand pulled her back down and Kendall moved his hand to her shoulder to keep her down.

"Just fuck off Jennifer!" James sneered.

Jennifer wrinkled her nose and looked at Mira with disgust, before she turned around to leave.

Mira grabbed her open chocolate milk and threw it forcefully at Jennifer. It hit her right on her hair,a nd the brown milk dripped down Jennifer's blonde mane, her white shirt and finally hit her shoes.

A shrilly scream made the whole cafeteria flinch. As Kendall roared with laughter, Jennifer ran from the room, covering her chocolate-stained hair with her hands.

"She'll get you back, you know." Logan sighed. Mira was cool, but he didn't really need another troublemaker in his life!

"I know... it was worth it though!" a smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes reminded Logan so much of Kendall that a short laugh escaped him and he shook his head.

x-x

Mira heard someone jam the lock as soon as she had closed the door. She sighed and threw back her head, looking at the ceiling.

"Fuck you Jennifer!" she said loudly and heard the girl snicker on the other side of the thin door.

"Good luck getting out in time for class!"

Mira shook her head. Damn, this one wasn't too bright! The doors were only about 7,5 feet tall, so getting out wouldn't really be a problem.

"Luckily I'm not wearing heels! Better start running bitch!"

Mira climbed on the toilet and moved one of her feet to the doorknob. She grabbed the top of the wall and pulled herself up. As she balanced on top of the thin wall, two girls entered the bathroom. They stopped when they spotted the girl on the wall and threw her a look that let her know, they thought she was an idiot!

"What?" Mira exclaimed and jumped down.

x-x

The bell rang and Mira sped up. Just as she raced around the corner, she hit someone and fell to the floor with an "ow". The other person exhaled deeply.

"Fuck! Twice in one day!"

"Sorry 'bout that" Mira said getting up and extending a hand to the other girl.

"It's okay... I'm Lucy."

So this was the girl Kendall had talked about. She was undeniably pretty!

"I'm Mira" Mira said and handed Lucy her iPod from the floor.

The headphones fell out and "pillars of eternity" reached their ears. Mira smiled in surprise.

"You listen to Down?!" She asked, the answer being rather obvious.

Lucy nodded with a smile. She didn't know many girls who shared her taste in music.

"Nola's their best album, don't you think?" Mira asked.

Lucy nodded again, thinking that she had just found her first friend at this school.

"Weren't you going to class?"

"Oh shit, yeah! I gotta get to P.E. What about you?"

"Me too, actually. Can you show the way?"

The two girls ran all the way to the locker room and quickly got changed. They entered the gymnasium just as the teacher was dividing the girls in volley ball teams. Mira and Lucy managed to blend in with the crowd of girls, not getting caught being late.

x-x

Mira pulled her shirt over her head and looked at Lucy.

"So" she started "kind of a weird time to move schools?"

Lucy eyed her new friend and licked her lips.

"Yeah... I... sort of got kicked out of the last one!"

"After three weeks! Okay... why?" Mira asked directly.

"Uhm... they found a bag of weed in my locker."

"Well why the hell were you keeping your stash at school?"

"I wasn't! Someone framed me, but I couldn't prove it, so..."

Mira raised her brow.

"Ugh, that totally sucks man!"

Lucy nodded and buttoned her pants. Mira felt Lucy's discomfort and changed the subject.

"So there's apparently gonna be a party at Gia Lowenstein's house this Friday. Wanna come?"

Lucy shrugged. She didn't know this Gia.

"Trashy girls and bad music? I don't know Mira..."

"Well it's probably not gonna be my favorite music either, but we can always get drunk and make fun of Jennifer."

Lucy smiled.

"I don't know who Jennifer is. But okay, let's do it."

* * *

**So the next chapter will be the party... A lot will happen there – dun dun duuun ;) What about this chapter though – review? **

**X Rikke**


	5. Chapter 5: The worst party ever

**A/N: Warning: Language, drinking, slap-happy Camille and sex :) And of course I don't own Big Time Rush...**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The worst party ever**

"Remember your curfew girls" Rowan said with a small smile on her lips.

"We will mom" Jo answered and pulled Mira with her out the door "see you later."

Rowan hoped deeply that Jo's words would be true. She knew what kind of trouble the girls would be in otherwise! But Jo was usually a good girl, so why wouldn't she be this night as well?

Camille was waiting in her car by the sidewalk, and she waved as she saw Jo and Mira. The girls got in and headed towards the Lowenstein residence.

x-x

The evening air was getting cooler and a small shudder went through Mira as they walked to the house, none of them wearing long sleeves.

The house was huge and classy, and noisy teens were flooding the lawn as well as the inside of the building. As the door was opened, the music volume became almost deafening and Mira closed her eyes as "Call me maybe" nearly made her eardrums burst! She absolutely hated that song! However Jo and Camille both lit up and immediately started singing along. Jo grabbed Mira's hand and towed her into the crowd.

x-x

Camille scanned the room and almost instantly spotted the guys. Carlos was hanging upside down while Kendall was pouring beer into his mouth. James and Logan were both cheering and a group of giggling girls were shooting the boys some rather horny looks. One of them approached Logan and Camille sped up. She yanked the clingy girl backwards and placed herself next to Logan instead.

"Hey babe" she purred and gave Logan a kiss, while sending the girl a death-stare.

"Hi Camille" Logan answered, not noticing the girl being flung away from him.

x-x

Behind Logan, Carlos had finally had enough beer and was now grabbing the table top so he wouldn't stumble backwards from the dizziness.

"Well at least there's enough beer here to make me forget the horrible music" Mira said to Kendall and grabbed a plastic cup. Kendall lifted his own cup and they both took a huge sip. Jo squinted a bit at Mira.

"Wow" she said when Mira emptied her cup in the third mouthful "maybe you should take it easy! Dad doesn't even want us to drink in the first place!"

"Oh, don't be such a party-pooper... besides, I've been drinking since I was like fifteen. I bet I can out-drink all of you guys!"

Mira smiled slyly and winked at Jo.

"Hey, I'll take that bet?" Carlos said, a bit cross-eyed already.

"Well, I don't know Carlos. It seems a bit unfair..."

Carlos interrupted her.

"What? You said yourself you could do it. Just because I'm a guy and you're a girl, doesn't mean you don't have a small chance of winning!"

Mira slowly shook her head. Carlos didn't even realize how sexist that sounded, and Mira smiled. It hadn't taken her long to fall in love with Carlos' childish and carefree nature. How could you not, really?

"That was not what I meant! I just thought that it was unfair because you had already had so much beer... But you're so on Litos!"

They sat down at the table and grabbed a beer, and Mira introduced Carlos and the rest of the table to a Danish drinking game.

x-x

Lucy opened the door to the Lowenstein house and peered inside. People were drinking, dancing and yelling, and she spotted Kendall's blonde hair in the kitchen. She hurried to him, and on her way worked up the courage to do what she had wanted to, since they first bumped into each other at the beginning of the week.

Kendall let out a surprised squeak as someone gave his butt a small squeeze. He quickly whipped around and felt a sheepish expression take over his face as he spotted Lucy there.

"H-hi" he stuttered and blushed. Did she just grab his ass?

Lucy smiled mischievously and gave Kendall a hug.

"Hey you" she said and grabbed a cup from the table "cheers!"

The alcohol was doing it's job and Kendall felt more and more relaxed. Lucy looked smoking hot! Maybe he should make a move?!

x-x

On a nearby couch Jo was having a conversation with James that was turning more and more into a monologue. James had probably told Jo everything there was to know about Cuda Hair-products and Jo's attention was failing. She took a small sip of beer and looked around.

What she saw in the kitchen made her heart break in a million pieces! Kendall was stroking Lucy's hair and he placed his other hand around her waist leading her towards the stairs.

Jo jumped from the couch and grabbed Camille who was nearly suffocating Logan with a long kiss.

"What?" she asked a bit annoyed.

Then she saw the expression on Jo's face, and she grabbed her friend around her shoulders and they hurried to the bathroom, leaving Logan panting next to a slightly drunk James on the couch.

x-x

"...And he was stroking her hair!" Jo exclaimed in a pained voice.

Camille wiped away the tear rolling down Jo's cheek. Her heart bled for her friend, and she really wanted to smack stupid Kendall upside his stupid head right now! How could he not see, what was right in front of him?

"Boys are stupid" Camille said instead. "But look Jo, you just gotta give that Lucy some competition, alright."

Jo nodded and mustered a tiny smile. She opened the door at the exact moment Kendall decided to press Lucy against the wall, kiss her and slowly move his hand under her shirt. A sniffle escaped Jo and she ran down the hallway to the kitchen where she immediately grabbed a cup of beer and downed half of it in one sip.

Camille sighed and approached the kissing couple. She grabbed Kendall by the back of his shirt and spun him around. A loud smack echoed down the hall and Camille's hand print graced Kendall's face. He touched his stinging cheek and looked at Camille.

"What the hell?" Lucy yelled and raised her hands in an asking gesture.

"What just happened?" Kendall whined and shook his head.

Camille stuck a finger right in front of Kendall's nose.

"Maybe you should open your eyes Kendall. God, you can be such an ass sometimes!"

Kendall watched Camille stride to the kitchen and spotted Jo with a beer in her hand and tears on her cheeks. What was wrong with her? Lucy turned him around and kissed him deeply and Kendall's thoughts of Jo evaporated quickly.

x-x

Jennifer walked in front of Camille with a triumphant look on her face. She cocked her head to the side and eyed the dark-haired girl.

"If I were you, I'd keep an eye on my man! Try finding one who believes in mogonamy next time."

"It's called monogamy, you idiot! Wait what?!"

Jennifer pointed and Camille followed the gesture with her eyes.

Logan was lying underneath a dark-haired girl who was completely smothering him with kisses. James, who sat on the couch, got kicked hard in the side by the girl who was now completely on top of Logan with a hand under his shirt. James gasped and got up from the sofa while rubbing his sore ribs.

Camille felt her heart skip a beat and she inhaled loudly. The anger quickly filled her chest and a growl escaped her as she made her way to the couch.

Logan didn't look too comfortable and Camille grabbed the girl by her hair and yanked her up. She screamed and clawed at Camille, but when she saw the look on her face the girl cowered back and fled the scene. Logan managed to get up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Tha..."

Camille raised her arm and smacked Logan so hard across the cheek that the entire living room fell silent and watched the drama unfold.

"Ow! C-Camille, I..."

"How _could_ you! I trusted you!" Camille cried with tears in her eyes.

"Nonono, it... _she_ kissed _me_!"

A smack to the other cheek made Logan whimper.

Mira and Carlos jumped from the table and hurried to their friends. Just as Camille raised her arm again, Mira grabbed it and got in front of Logan who had already closed his eyes, ready for the incoming slap.

"Hey" she said "calm down Camille. What's up?"

"He was kissing another girl!"

Mira raised an eyebrow and looked at Logan, who shook his head.

"She kissed me" he answered slowly "she came flying out of nowhere and just thrust her tongue down my throat. I didn't cheat on you Camille!"

"You french-kissed?!"

Her other hand came flying down and caught Logan by surprise.

"Whoa, let's just all calm down and think nice, happy thoughts about kittens!" Carlos exclaimed. His voice was a bit slurred, and the next thing he knew he had a hand print on his face as well.

"Screw your kittens right now Carlos! They don't solve problems!" Camille yelled and turned her attention to Mira. She poked her in the chest.

"And you!"

Mira looked confused. What the hell did _she_ do?

"It's your fault that Jo's heartbroken and getting drunk in the kitchen."

"Camille you don't make sense. How can that possibly be my fault?"

"You invited that Lucy-girl here!"

Mira sighed and quickly ran towards the kitchen. She had to talk to Jo.

Now unprotected, Logan peered at Camille whose eyes were narrowed. He laughed a small nervous laugh that turned into a squeak as Camille once again raised her hand. This time James stepped in front of Logan and he eyed Camille with apprehension.

"Maybe you should relax a bit Camille" he said, carefully considering his words.

"Do you want one as well?!" she yelled and raised her hand higher.

James shook his head violently and lifted his hands to ward off a sudden slap.

Camille cried out with frustration, making the guys flinch, and then exited the house. James gave Logan a push.

"After her, man. When you get her alone, she'll probably understand..."

Logan sighed and then left the house, and James pulled out his comb to carefully straighten his hair.

x-x

Kendall was panting and his eyes rolled back as Lucy did an especially good thing with her tongue.

"Oh God" he moaned and grabbed the pillow with both hands.

Lucy stopped for a moment and looked up at him with a sly look.

"You like it?" she asked playfully and Kendall nodded his head.

Lucy blew a bit of cold air down on Kendall's erection and he gasped. She giggled and let her warm mouth embrace Kendall again. She teased him with her tongue, making him groan.

"Go as deep as you can..." he mumbled, and Lucy fulfilled his request in a slow motion, that made Kendall hold his breath.

Lucy moved her mouth slowly up and down Kendall and he felt the climax getting closer.

"Oh" he gasped "I'm gonna cum!"

She kept blowing him and a sense of panic spread through him. Oh my God was she gonna...?

"Lucy, I'm gonna cum! I'm... unh!"

His abs tensed as he exploded in an orgasm like no one he had ever experienced before! Being blown all the way was definitely something else!

Lucy swallowed and crawled next to him to cuddle in his arm. Kendall exhaled and relaxation washed over him.

"That was amazing" he said and kissed Lucy on the tip of her nose "want me to return the favour?"

She winked and giggled as Kendall rolled over to be on top. He smiled at her before starting to move south.

x-x

Jo was sitting in the kitchen, eyes blank and three empty cups on the table.

Mira sat down next to her and sighed deeply.

"So" she said "Camille told me something was wrong! What happened, Jo?"

Jo lifted her gaze and tried to focus on Mira. It took a while, and Mira sighed again. This was NOT good!

A small sniffle escaped Jo before she started talking. She rambled for a few minutes, stumbling over the words and tears rolling down her cheeks. But Mira got the message. Kendall had hooked up with Lucy, and Jo's heart was crying.

"Jo, I'm sorry! I didn't know that Lucy liked Kendall that way..."

Jo looked at Mira cross-eyed and then shook her head.

"I guess, I should try harder... I just like him so much, and I don't know how to tell him" she slurred and looked lost.

Mira licked her lips. Jo was absolutely wasted, and being drunk did not combine well with heart-ache! Water would probably be a good idea right now! Mira got up and grabbed Jo by the shoulder.

"Come on" she said and tugged gently "let's get some water for you..."

Jo managed to get up, her knees somewhat wobbly, and let Mira lead her to the sink. She emptied the glass in two gulps and felt her stomach churn.

"Ohhh" she groaned "I don't feel good. Can we please go get some air?"

Mira led Jo to the living room and pushed past the massive crowd of drunk teenagers to get to the front door.

A sudden commotion of hooting girls made her stop and turn around. In the middle of the room James stood, surrounded by screaming girls. He had lifted up his shirt and was showing off the most perfect washboard-abs that Mira had ever seen. A pretty girl with curly, sandy hair and huge boobs leaned in and caressed his stomach. James threw her a dazzling smile and let her move on to a kiss. Mira huffed and felt a tight knot forming in the pit of her stomach. Bitch, she thought and threw James and the girl another look. They were now intertwined in a french-kiss, and the knot in Mira's stomach seemed to grow and tighten even further. What was that all about, now?!

Mira shook off the feeling of discomfort and turned her attention back to Jo, who was sweating profusely and had obtained a pale, sick color on her face. Mira led her drunk friend out the door, and Jo doubled over on the lawn. She vomited and tears mixed with the foul-smelling puddle of puke on the grass.

"Ohh" she cried and started shaking.

She hurled again, and Mira looked away. Being somewhat drunk herself, the smell of vomit didn't do anything good for her. But when did it ever!

When Jo had emptied her stomach completely, Mira hauled her to her feet.

"We have to get you inside" she said and Jo nodded. She felt horrible!

x-x

Just as Mira and Jo entered the living room, everything seemed to escalate. A fight between two guys had broken out in one of the corners and people were cheering loudly. James and his catch of the night were all over each other on the couch, and a very drunk Carlos was swinging wildly from the chandelier. He howled like Tarzan and used his body to gain extra speed.

The chandelier creaked dangerously, and with a loud squeak the chandelier and Carlos came crashing down!

On his way to the floor Carlos managed a hollow cry, but it disappeared as the chandelier landed on top of him, making him pass out instantly. People drew back and James and Mira quickly got to Carlos.

"Shit!" James exclaimed and pulled at his hair "Carlos?"

He slapped Carlos gently on the cheek, to make him come to, but nothing happened. Mira poured a glass of water in Carlos' face and he spluttered back to life.

"Oww" he groaned and reach behind himself to touch his sore back.

"Oh man" Mira sighed "thank God, you wore your helmet!"

Carlos managed a weak smile, gave his helmet a pat and pushed off the chandelier that was lying partly over his legs and lower body.

x-x

At that moment the front door slammed open, and a man wearing a dark blue uniform towered over the teenagers.

"COPS!" a guy yelled, and then all hell broke loose! Everybody started screaming, and bumped into each other in the effort to find an exit. James yanked Carlos from the floor and Mira managed to catch Jo before she was thrown to the ground and crushed by the panicking crowd.

People were spilling through the doors and windows and running left and right. The cops swarmed around outside and were chasing down the drunk teenagers who tried to get away and threw them in the waiting cars.

James knitted his brow and looked at Mira.

"See if you can get away!" he yelled and together with Carlos he exited by a kitchen window.

Easier said than done, Mira thought. She would not let go of Jo, but she couldn't stay put either! She quickly grabbed Jo's purse and pulled her friend with her to the back door she had spotted down the hall.

x-x

Lucy opened her eyes as she heard a scream and a crash from downstairs. Kendall emerged from her crotch, his mouth glistening from a mix of saliva and Lucy's bodily fluids.

"What was that?" he asked. It had sounded a bit like an insane version of Tarzan!

Then another scream reached their ears. "COPS!"

"Shit!" Kendall cried and fell off of the bed in an attempt to reach his pants.

Lucy jumped up and quickly put on her clothes. Kendall was trying to put on his pants, not realizing the ass was in the front, and if the cops hadn't been such a terrifying thought, Lucy would have laughed at this moment. Instead she helped Kendall turn around the jeans, and found his Vans under the bed.

Kendall threw open the window and he and Lucy climbed to the roof. Red and blue lights lit up the whole yard and Kendall sighed deeply. Fuck!

He spotted James and Carlos being tackled to the ground by two huge cops, who then yanked them to their feet and led them to a car. After being thrown in, another cop brought Mira and Jo to the same car and slammed the door shut as Jo clambered in.

"You two on the roof, there!" an angry voice shouted "stay, and we'll come get you. We don't want any accidents, so STAY PUT!"

Kendall threw Lucy a nervous smile.

"Well this stinks!" he announced and Lucy leaned in to receive a protective bear-hug.

x-x

Carlos was looking perplexed as the situation dawned on him. His dad would not be too happy when his son was brought home by one of his colleagues! The police car pulled over to the curb and Carlos mumbled a "see you later" before he was yanked from the car and pulled to the front door by his collar.

Mira, Jo and James watched as the door was opened and Sylvia Garcia in a nightgown became visible on the porch. She pointed to the house and Carlos trudged in, his head bowed down low.

x-x

"What time is it?" Mira suddenly asked feeling her insides churn.

James looked as his watch.

"1.30... why?"

Mira closed her eyes and her stomach did a flip. Shit! Mr. Taylor would have a fit!

Apparently Mira's thoughts had been easily readable, because James looked to the floor of the vehicle with slightly flushed cheeks.

"Oh" he said in a low voice.

James was the next in line to be pulled from the car and marched to the door of his house. The cop rang the door bell and waited. After a few moments lights were turned on inside the house, and the door was opened.

Brooke Diamond eyed the cop and her son with an angry look.

"What is this?" she asked coldly.

"Underage drinking, loud music and the neighbors needed help to shut down the party" the cop explained in a tired voice. Stuff like this happened every weekend, and it bored him to death.

Brooke Diamond smacked her son's cheek and then grabbed him by the front of his shirt. She pulled him inside the house and slammed the door.

Mira's shoulders tensed as she saw James being slapped. Ouch! Apparently she and Jo weren't the only ones in trouble this night.

x-x

Mr. Taylor towered in the door. Arms crossed and fuming with anger. Mira thought he had been mad after her fight, but that episode paled in comparison to this! Just as the cop turned to leave, Jo doubled over and vomited again. Mira jumped to the side, so it didn't hit her shoes and she bumped into Mr. Taylor. He grabbed a fistful of her shirt and twisted it painfully.

"Are you out of your mind?" he growled " We have been worried sick!"

"I-I'm sorry" Mira stuttered "I forgot my phone, so I couldn't keep track of time!"

"Have you heard of a watch?!" Mr. Taylor sneered sarcastically.

Mira looked down.

Jo groaned and Rowan let her to the living room and placed her on the couch. She quickly fetched her daughter a glass of water.

Jo was trembling from fear as well as nausea. Her father paced in front of the two girls and was giving them the worst scolding of their lives.

"Now get to bed!" he yelled after twenty minutes of lecturing "I'll punish you in the morning!"

Mira's head snapped up.

"What?" she asked incredulously "just get it over with, so we can move on!"

Mr. Taylor's eyes narrowed.

"YOU DO NOT EVER TELL ME, WHAT TO DO! NOW GET TO BED. MARCH!"

He smacked Mira hard on the rear as she jumped past him.

x-x

Lying in bed, Mira's heart was racing. The anger on Mr. Taylor's face had been so overwhelming and now she had to lie here the rest of the night, wondering what the paddling would be like! The punishment wouldn't take place in the morning. It had already begun! Mira scowled and rolled to her side to get some sleep.

* * *

**Well big surprise – major whumpage ahead for James, Jo and Mira in the next chapter! **


	6. Chapter 6: The punishments

**A/N: Suddenly it's been a while since I updated this story. The mix of christmas and writing on "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" kinda postponed this one! I had actually just gotten back to writing on it, when your review ticked in, Jaime, so I figured I'd get it done :) And here comes chapter 6... Not exactly a christmasy one, but what the heck ;)**

**Pretty much just one long punishment o.O **

**Disclaimer: yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't own BTR and so on and so forth ;) **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The punishments**

Carlos peeked up at his parents, who were both hovering over him. His dad's cheeks were spotted red and he was huffing angrily. He started pacing in front of his drunk son, and continued to lecture him.

"I am so disappointed in you Carlos! We raised you better than this... getting drunk, ruining other people's furniture!"

Carlos hung his head. Disappointed parents were the worst kind!

Seeing as one of the faux crystals from the chandelier had been stuck on his helmet, he'd had to come clean about the episode. His father had not been impressed, to say the least!

"I think this helmet is making you feel invincible Carlos! Well, you're not! For crying out loud boy, you fell from the ceiling hugging a chandelier! We're lucky Officer Bass could drop you off here and that we didn't have to go to the hospital to find you!"

"I'm sorry..." Carlos responded in a tiny voice. Why did he always have to do those stunts?! They usually didn't go the way he planned them to anyway. But they were so much fun, though... Carlos fought to hide a smile as he thought about his Tarzan-howl in the chandelier.

"I expected more from you!" Antonio boomed, making Carlos shrink back with blushing cheeks. Sylvia gently grabbed her husband's wrist to calm him down a bit, but he shook off her touch.

"It's junior year Carlos, maybe you should grow up a bit! Lose the attitude and focus on getting your grades up!"

"But dad..."

"No buts... Now get to bed. You're grounded for two weeks. And you'll leave your helmet here with me for an equally long time..."  
"WHAT! No! Papi..." Carlos pleaded desperately.

But his dad didn't budge.

Being grounded was one thing. But two weeks without Helmet! As Carlos handed his father his beloved helmet, he felt extremely vulnerable. Naked even! His shoulders drooped as he walked to his room. This would be the two longest weeks of his young life!

x-x

James backed up against the wall and cautiously watched his mother. His heart was racing and his cheek stung where she had hit him.

Brooke Diamond inhaled deeply before she started screaming at her son.

"My God, James, you're turning into him! How dare you do this to me... You of all people!" she yelled, making her rather tall son feel tiny.

"I'm nothing like him..." James whispered and looked down.

His mother stepped close to him and James flinched.

"What do you call this then? The police at the door, bringing you home in the middle of the night, reeking of alcohol..." she grabbed his shirt and eyed the lipstick that was smeared on his neck "and clearly some slut has been all over you!"

"I'm not him..." James said again, his heart hammering in his chest, "and she was not a slut... she was pretty and nice... unlike you" he hadn't meant to say the last words out loud for his mother to hear, but her reaction made it clear that he obviously had.

A hard slap made James' head snap to the side, and he swallowed, knowing exactly what would come next.

Brooke Diamond stuck a finger in front of James' nose.

"Go pick a belt, and get to the office!" she sneered and left the living room.

James leaned his head against the wall for a moment, all possible emotions running through him at once. Then he sighed and slowly walked to his room.

James opened his dresser and pulled out one of his belts. The knot was forming in his stomach and he could feel his nerves jittering.

x-x

He pushed the door to the office open and saw his mother standing by the desk with her back turned. Her shoulders were shaking and James swallowed hard. She was crying again! James felt conflicted. A sting of sadness and empathy for his mother stabbed at his heart, but fear of what was coming quickly took over.

Tears meant anger, and anger meant a much more vicious punishment! Brooke Diamond turned around and her eyes shot daggers, when she realized that her son had seen her cry.

"Get over here" she demanded and quickly wiped away the last tear.

James slowly approached his mother, cautiously eying her. She snatched the belt from James' hand and pointed towards the desk.

James swallowed his spit and obediently bend over the desk. He knew the routine, but flinched nonetheless as his mother cleared her throat and made the belt swish through the air with a sickening noise. An echoing whack traveled through the office as the belt made contact with James' backside for the first time that night.

"This is NOT acceptable James!" she boomed and raised her arm again.

James held his breath and squinted. WHACK! The belt struck him again and James gasped. Holy crap, she didn't exactly conserve her strength this night!

Another loud whack made James jerk forward as the belt struck him on the exact same spot as before.

"Aaah!" he cried out.

"I will not stand for this kind of behavior, do you understand me, young man?"

Instead of answering, James clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. He wasn't trying to behave badly, he just went to a freaking party! And teenagers could die from lack of partying! Everybody knew that.

WHACK! ...WHACK!

"Did you hear me?" his mother boomed after the two quick strokes that made tears gather in James' eyes.

"Yes..." he muttered under his breath.

"If this happens again, I don't know what I'll do James! I cannot have you turning into your father..." Brooke Diamond yelled with a shaky voice.

"MOM!" James responded loudly, feeling anger tear at his chest "I'm not him, and I'm not fucking becoming him ei...!"

A vicious smack cut him off, and James let out a yelp as he flinched.

"Oww, please stop!"

"I will not stop until I make sure, the police won't have to bring you home drunk in the middle of the night ever again!" James' mother hissed while she let four branding smacks land on her son's backside.

x-x

Tears now fell freely from James' eyes and he yelped with every smack. More than fifteen welts already graced his butt and lower back, and still his mother wouldn't stop. A whirlwind of emotions rushed through James at once. Somewhere deep down he knew that a simple "I'm sorry, I wont do it again" would probably make the punishment end, but for some reason, tonight these words wouldn't leave his mouth easily. The way she treated him was so unfair! Taking all of her own anger and pent up emotions from the divorce out on him! It was NOT right!

James was just about to vent his true feelings on his mother's way of treating him, when an especially hard smack hit a particularly sore spot and a wave of nausea rushed through him, making him prone to throw up right then and there! When the next whack also struck that spot, James decided that he could choose a better time to discuss things with his mother.

Instead he inhaled a great gulp of air.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again..." he nearly whispered, feeling extremely annoyed with himself for giving in.

One last evil whack made James jerk forward, before his mother finally lowered her arm and let the belt fall to the floor. Without a single word she left the room, leaving James alone.

James heaved for air and carefully slid to the floor to sit on his hands and knees, resting a bit after the harsh punishment. His bottom was throbbing uncomfortably and the thought of sitting down, sent involuntary shutters down his spine.

x-x

It had taken a while, but James was now finally lying on his stomach on his bed. He was absolutely exhausted and yet sleep wouldn't come.

The unpleasant self-pity raved around inside of him, mixing with anger and humiliation. He could not stay true to himself if he kept letting his mother hit him like he was a little kid! He was not 10 anymore. He was 17 and a whole head taller than his mom! So why did she make him feel so tiny and worthless?

Suddenly an image of Carlos hanging from the chandelier danced in front of his eyes, and he let out a small chortle. His heart chimed with love as he thought of Carlos and his crazy way of acting. He might be the most naïve of their group, but Carlos had an amazing ability to always make people around him laugh and feel happy.

James' thoughts moved on to Logan and Kendall and a warm, fuzzy feeling grew inside of his chest, comforting him in his physical pain. He had the best friends in the world!

And then there was Mira. James had been almost disappointed when she hadn't lived up to his thoughts of a Nordic, big-breasted, blond chic, but she seemed so comfortable in her own skin, so true to who she was, that you couldn't help admiring that. She had instantly clicked with Kendall and Carlos, matching a big part of both their personalities, and James pretty much saw her as one of the guys now. Maybe that was why he felt a bit uneasy when he remembered the look in Mira's eyes, when she had seen him kiss that girl at the party. She had looked a little jealous, maybe hurt even. But James wasn't always the best at spotting emotions, so he was probably wrong! Besides, he was absolutely sure that he was in no way Mira's type, just as she wasn't his! And she wasn't!

Then James remembered what Jo and Mira had told him and the guys about Mr. Taylor, and James' reflected on the fact that he probably wouldn't be the only one having trouble sitting down the following days. For some unexplainable reason he took comfort in that, and soon warm, steady breaths was all that could be heard. James had fallen a sleep at last.

x-x

"Rise and shine!" a voice yelled outside Mira's door alongside a heavy knocking. The sudden noise made her jump up startled and she rolled over the edge of the bed, crashing to the floor.

"Ow! Shit!" Mira moaned and rubbed her elbow.

She got up and shook her head. A slight hangover made her entire body feel heavy and her stomach churned. Mira hadn't exactly slept well, and as the thoughts of the impending punishment suddenly flooded her mind, she dropped down on the bed, shoulders slumped.

"Get up, Mira!" Mr. Taylor yelled from outside the door.

"I'm up, I'm up..." she answered un-enthusiastically and ran a hand through her hair.

After putting on some clothes Mira opened the door and peeked out. The hallway was empty and she made a run for the bathroom. Luckily the door was open and Mira sped into the room and shut the door and locked it. She would NOT enter the office with a full bladder!

Mira swallowed down some enormous gulps of water, before she finally exited the bathroom and walked to the office on shaky legs. This was it! Pain was inevitably coming – and soon! The mere thought of it made her uncomfortable. That kind of punishment seemed so foreign and medieval to her, and a lump grew in her throat.

x-x

Jo was already sitting on the couch, and she sent Mira a desperate look, that made Mira guess that her friend had never had a hangover like the one she definitely experienced at this moment!

Mira plopped down next to her and eyed Mr. Taylor warily. He looked cranky and was turning the dreaded paddle in his hands.

Mira swallowed hard and felt her heart skip a beat. Oh God!

"Jo, we'll start with you" Mr. Taylor rasped and patted the desk with his free hand.

"Yes, sir" Jo whispered and slowly rose to walk to the desk.

"Umm..." Mira said awkwardly "shouldn't I leave when you...?"

"You'll stay put and watch, understood?" Mr. Taylor growled and narrowed his eyes at Mira, who silently nodded her head.

Jo bend over the desk and readied herself. It had been years since she had found herself in this degrading position, and her heart was almost pounding it's way out of her body.

"Oww!" she yelped loudly as the paddle hit her.

Mira flinched on the couch from the loud whack, feeling her own pulse race. She closed her eyes and her heart cried for Jo with every stroke.

Suddenly an unwelcome image of Martin forced its' way into Mira's mind. Nausea washed over Mira and she quickly opened her eyes to get rid of the memories. Mr. Taylor sent Mira a quick glance and looked pleased to see the tears in her eyes. He had now way of knowing what had truly caused them.

After a few minutes of loud whacks and a simultaneous scolding, Jo was let up from the desk. She had tears in her eyes and was shaking with sobs.

"Now get back to your room Jo. I don't want you out of there all day, except for visits to the bathroom!"

Jo hung her head and nodded.

"Yes, daddy..."

x-x

As soon as the door closed, Mr. Taylor went to stand right in front of Mira, who cowered back on the couch.

"Please don't do this" Mira croaked.

"You brought this on yourself and you will darn well take the punishment! Come here!"

Mr. Taylor grabbed Mira by an arm and yanked her from the couch. Soon she found herself thrown across the desk with her backside completely unprotected. Her stomach did a flip and she inhaled deeply.

Mr. Taylor cleared his throat before he raised his arm and let the paddle fall. WHACK!

Mira flinched and shut her eyes tightly. Ouch! With a WHAM the paddle hit her again and she gasped for air. Holy crap, he used a lot of force in those swats, Mira thought and let out a small croak. Mr. Taylor shuffled his feet and in a booming voice started yelling at Mira in tune with the smacks.

x-x

The sixth swat made Mira gasp for air and she couldn't help but let out a small "ow, shit!" Mr. Taylor furrowed his brow and raised his arm up high.

"You just bought yourself three more!" he said sternly and Mira sighed. She HAD to learn to watch her mouth in this house!

As the paddle made contact with her butt again, she was suddenly once more back in the alley, hiding behind a waste container, frozen from dread, as her boyfriend was being beaten with a bat by three bikers! And then all the emotions flooded her! The heart-breaking guilt she was carrying around spread through her body and she clenched her jaw. A paddling was nothing compared to what Martin had been through! And she deserved whatever she got! Maybe not for the reasons Mr. Taylor was hitting her, but then surely for what had happened in the past. She opened her eyes and pursed her lips slightly.

When the paddle struck her again she didn't even flinch, and Mr. Taylor wondered to himself if he had softened the blows. The next few swats were vicious and would make a grown man cry out, but Mira stayed silent and only curled up her fists, pressing her fingernails into the soft flesh on her palms.

A fierce determination took over Mr. Taylor as he continued hitting Mira, wanting to reach her pent up feelings, so he could start "re-building" her attitude. After spending nearly all of his force on her, he lowered the paddle to the desk and wiped his forehead from the exertion. He was baffled by Mira's persistance. What could have changed her threshold for pain so dramatically during the beating?

He yanked her from her bend-over position and looked at her. Mira raised her gaze and locked eyes with the man who had just beaten her severely.

"Are we done here?" she asked completely void of emotion, making Mr. Taylor's surprise even greater.

Her comment would normally have set his temper ablaze, but the sudden change in Mira's attitude, from nervous fear of the paddling to... this, made him concerned rather than angry. Something was wrong deep within this girl!

He blinked his eyes a couple of times and cleared his throat.

"You will go to your room, and not come out for the rest of the day. Grounded for two weeks with no TV, video games or after school activity! And any more acting out will land you in the same position as before! Are we clear?"

Mira just glared at him, nodded and then left the room with a slight waddle.

x-x

Mr. Taylor sat down on the couch next to his wife and gave her hand a gentle squeezed. She looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes.

"What's wrong my dear?"

"I'm not sure yet" he responded slowly "but I think something has happened to Mira in her past. Something awful. And before we get her to share her feelings I don't think I can reach her..."

Rowan squeezed her husband's hand reassuringly. This was why she loved him. He might be strict. He might use very firm methods of raising his children. But he had a good heart, concerned deeply for his loved ones and wanted to make people the best they could be.

"Try getting Jo to talk to her..." Rowan said and her husband nodded. That would probably be the best way to get Mira to loosen up.

x-x

Mira was lying on her bed, chewing on a piece of bubble gum. Her backside was buzzing and burning, but she did her best to ignore it. Sure it had hurt like hell, but who was she to complain from a small beating with a paddle, when her ex boyfriend had been beaten bloody with a baseball bat. And died from it! At least she would live... and in some messed up way, when Mr. Taylor had been hitting her, Mira had felt that she was finally paying for her cowardice!

She put on her head phones and turned up the music loud as Slipknot filled her head.

I've screamed until my veins collapsed  
I've waited last, my time's elapsed  
Now, all I do is live with so much hate  
I've wished for this, I've bitched at that  
I've left behind this little fact:  
You cannot kill what you did not create  
I've gotta say what I've gotta say  
And then I swear I'll go away  
But I can't promise you'll enjoy the noise  
I guess I'll save the best for last  
My future seems like one big past  
You're left with me 'cause you left me no choice

I push my fingers into my eyes  
It's the only thing that slowly stops the ache  
If the pain goes on,  
I'm not gonna make it!

Pull me back together  
Or separate the skin from bone  
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone  
Tell me the reality is better than the dream  
But I found out the hard way,  
Nothing is what it seems!

x-x

* * *

**Sooo, the punishments... Ouch, poor James and Mira... and in a different way also poor Carlos for having his helmet taken away. Kind of a mean punishment for him, I guess.**

**Hope you liked the chapter. And I would love a review from you ^.^**

**Happy holidays out there :)**

**xo Rikke **


	7. Chapter 7: The argument

**A/N: Finally an update for this one! But it's looong to make up for the wait :) Thanks for the reviews and reads, I appreciate it so much :)**

**Been busy reading "Those you trust" by Winterschild11 and it's AMAZING. Check it out if you haven't already!**

**Don't own Big Time Rush...**

**Have fun reading :D**

* * *

**Chapter 7: The argument**

Jo slipped through the door and saw Mira sleeping on the bed. Her headphones had almost fallen off, and Jo gently pulled them over her head so she wouldn't strangle herself with the cord. The music was loud and Jo couldn't resist pulling the headphones to her ears. Violent drums, bass and guitar sounds reached her, hammering against her eardrums, and she quickly yanked the headphones away. It sounded so angry to her!

She looked up and spotted Mira eying her, a mischievous glint in the green eyes.

"Hey" Jo said quietly "how are you?"

"Well, my ass hurts!" Mira said plainly, cocking an eyebrow "how are you? Enjoying my music?" she continued sarcastically with a crooked smile.

Jo eyed the floor, feeling her cheeks blush a little.

"Umm... I..."

"Really don't get why I listen to this "evil"stuff. You thought it sounded like noise not music, and that I must suffer from anger issues since I listen to something like this? Does that pretty much cover it?"

Jo blushed even more. She could see that Mira was just teasing, but her words had hit, spot on. Mira licked her lips.

"You know, not everybody who listens to metal are depressed and aggressive. And it's not mandatory to have long black hair, wear black clothes and Dr. Martens!"

"I know" Jo said quietly.

Mira raised her eyebrow even further.

"Fine" Jo sighed "I might have had my doubts about your taste in music..."

"I get it all the time!" Mira smiled "And I don't really give a shit... So, how are you?"

Jo carefully sat down on the bed, wincing slightly.

"Sore..." she said "and still hung over..."

She pictured Kendall and Lucy in the hallway and felt her eyes well up.

"And sad..." Jo whispered, a stray tear making its way down her cheek.

Mira mentally scolded herself for forgetting about Jo's heartache! She had been so focused on the stupid punishment and then on her thoughts about Martin, that the whole Kucy-thing had slipped her mind.

She crawled to the other side of the bed and pulled Jo in for a hug.

"I just like him so much! How can he not see that!" Jo cried, tears now flowing freely, "The thought of him kissing that cow is just killing me... "

"Yeah, I know..." Mira sighed and squeezed Jo's shoulder.

"Ugh, he so deserved that smack!" Jo sneered and punched the bed.

Mira rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess... CAMILLE!"

Jo nodded.

"She is seriously way to slap-happy! She slapped Logan three times and smacked the hell out of Carlos... and then apparently also Kendall!"

"She hit Carlos? How could she slap _Carlos_?" Jo said in a baffled voice "Carlos is just... Carlos!"

Mira nodded.

"Yeah, but she did... Jo, if you wanna be with Kendall, you gotta tell him! He can't exactly read your mind, you know! It's not fair to either of you, if you're gonna be sad and angry all the time..."

Jo felt her stomach churn and she sent Mira an annoyed look.

"Easy for you to say! How am I gonna tell him... and now he's totally in love with Lucy anyway..." she sniffled in a shaky voice.

"They just hooked up at a party! He is not IN LOVE with her yet, come on Jo! Honestly I think you have to stop feeling so sorry for yourself, if you're gonna..."

Jo pushed away Mira's arm and glared at her.

"What? I don't feel sorry for myself!"

Mira furrowed her brow and sighed.

"Yeah, you do! I'm not trying to get you mad at me Jo, I just don't get this teen-girl-drama-thing. And you can't really blame Kendall for kissing Lucy, you never told him you like him, so how the hell should he know?"

Jo got off the bed.

"So now you're siding with Kendall? That's just great, Mira, thank you! This teen-girl-drama-thing is gonna leave you alone for a bit!"

She whirled around and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Urh, great!" Mira groaned as she let herself fall back on the bed. She cringed as the movement caused painwaves to rush through her rear.

This was exactly why she primarily had guy friends at home! Girls were so overly dramatic sometimes, and Mira knew she could be very direct in her way of telling things. Maybe too direct, she thought and ran a hand through her hair.

She reached for her phone.

x-x

Kendall was lying on his bed, looking at his ceiling with a goofy expression on his face. His thoughts whirled in his head. Dark hair with red streaks and brown, beautiful eyes kept dancing in his mind, and he felt himself starting to go hard as the memories of what Lucy had done with her mouth popped up in his head. She was definitely skilled in that area!

His mother's voice disturbed his pleasant thoughts, and he almost fell off of the bed, when he heard her on the stairs.

"KENDALL!" she yelled.

He quickly glanced down, making sure the fading erection couldn't be seen and then opened his door.

"What?" he asked and raised his eyebrows.

"I need you to watch Katie while I go shopping, okay?"

He groaned.

"Kendall!" Mrs. Knight said firmly.

"But she's 12, she doesn't need me to watch her! And I'm really tired..."

"SEE! TOLD YOU, HE'D AGREE, MOM!" a voice sounded from downstairs.

"TOO BAD I'M THE MOM!" Jen shouted back.

She turned her attention back to Kendall, her look stern.

"And too bad you're tired, mister. Who's fault is that?! And by the way you're grounded, so I'm sure you don't have anything better to do, right?"

Kendall groaned again.

"Fine!"

His mom smiled at him.

"Keep her away from online poker!"

Kendall shook his head and laughed. His baby sister had to be the coolest kid in her year!

They were watching TV when Kendall heard his phone, and he quickly ran to get it. It might be Lucy!

"Hey it's Kendall" he cried after frantically grabbing his phone, nearly dropping it to the floor.

"Hey dude" Mira answered.

Kendall swallowed his spit. He really hoped it had been Lucy calling.

"What's up, Mira! I saw you and Jo getting caught by the cops yesterday, what did Mr. Taylor say?"

"Umm... yeah, let's not talk about that too much! I really need to get outta here, can I come over?"

"Aren't you grounded?" Kendall asked, not willing to believe that Mr. Taylor would let Mira roam free after coming home in the middle of the night, dragging his drunk daughter along.

"Well yes, but they'll never know. I'm supposed to stay in my room all day, so they won't notice if I sneak out!"

"Okay, sure come on over... But I'm grounded too, so I can't really have friends here. My mom's out shopping though, so that should give us a few hours from now..."

"Cool, see you soon!"

Kendall put the phone down on the coffee table.

"Mira's coming over, promise you won't tell mom!"

Katie sent him a devious look.

"What's in it for me, big brother?"

"Come on Katie! I'll owe you one?"

She shook her head and got up from the couch.

"You'll let me play online poker!" she said and grabbed Kendall's wallet "and I'm taking a twenty!" she continued, robbing Kendall of half his money.

He shook his head at her, as she ran up the stairs to turn on her computer.

x-x

Logan and Camille were locked in a passionate kiss, Logan's hands exploring Camille's breasts as Camille's phone started ringing.

She tore herself free from the embrace and looked at the screen.

"It's Jo, I gotta take this Logan"

Logan sighed and let his hands fall to his sides. No more kissy for Logan, he thought sadly.

Camille answered her phone, and her face soon turned a deep shade of pink. When she ended the call, she was practically shaking.

Logan debated with himself whether it would be smart to ask her about what had happened, but Camille made the choice for him.

"I can't believe that girl!" she yelled, slapping her hand down at Logan's chest.

"Ow, hey!" he cried "don't take it out on me!"

"Oh, sorry Logan!" Camille said, she hadn't realized she had hit him "it's just Mira! She really made Jo lose it, she's just so sad now... Oh, she just wait till I get my hands on her on Monday!"

Logan squirmed a bit underneath Camille.

"Well, I'm sure Mira didn't mean for Jo to get upset..." he tried.

Camille narrowed her eyes.

"Are you taking her side?"

"No!" Logan answered immediately, shaking his head frantically "definitely not. No! Baaad Mira!"

"I mean, who does she think she is? Inviting Lucy to the party, getting Jo in trouble with her dad and now making her cry!"

"Technically Jo got herself in trouble. Mira didn't force her to drink anything..."

Camille raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"Never mind!" he squeaked and tipped Camille off of him, "I think I'll head home, okay?"

Camille nodded and gave Logan a quick kiss before she started pacing her room, fuming with anger.

"She will be _so_ sorry!" she hissed to herself.

x-x

Kendall opened the door and let Mira in. She kicked off her Vans and they went to the living room.

"Want something to drink?" Kendall asked and headed for the kitchen.

"Sure, anything would be great..."

He returned with two cokes and a bowl of chips.

"Ooh, nice, thanks Kendall!" Mira said and took a huge gulp of soda, "so... you hooked up with Lucy yesterday?"

Kendall smirked and looked at Mira.

"You heard, huh? Yeah, she's really cool..."

"I guess her looks had NOTHIN' to do with it!" Mira teased with a crooked smile, and Kendall swatted at her with a pillow.

"Granted, she's hot too" he smiled.

"So, do you like her?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know her that well yet, but I guess so..."

Mira nodded. This whole thing with Lucy might cause a bit of trouble between her and Jo!

The next thing Mira knew, she was being jumped by Katie, who succeeded in knocking her off the couch. Mira winced as her backside collided painfully with the hardwood floor.

"Av for fanden i helvede!" she cried loudly and looked up at her attacker, "hi Katie!"

Katie helped her off the floor and gave her a hug. They had only met three times before, but Katie had instantly liked her. Seeing as Mira pretty much was her big brother in a girl version, Katie had seen no reason not to like the tomboy.

"What did you say?" the 12-year-old asked curiously.

Mira raised an eyebrow.

"Umm... I just said ow!"

"So ow is like five different words in Danish?!" Katie continued dryly, and raised an eyebrow as well.

Kendall snickered on the couch.

"Okay, maybe I said something more... let's just say the words meant... darn it, or something else not a swear word, okay! You're not old enough for that!" Mira laughed.

Katie grabbed the folded news paper and swatted Mira on the bottom.

"Don't tell me I'm not old enough, I HATE that!"

Mira jumped from the burning sensation that traveled through her.

"OW, Katie don't do that!" she yelled in a pained voice.

"What, this?" Katie smirked and smacked her again.

"Fuck, ow! Stop, it hurts, Katie!"

The younger girl stopped when she saw tears gather in Mira's eyes from the pain.

"I-I'm sorry" she stuttered "I didn't think I hit you that hard!"

"You didn't... I was sore in the first place! New subject!"

"What happened?" Katie prodded.

"Nothing Katie, leave her alone!" Kendall said firmly, sensing Mira's discomfort.

"Fine!" Katie snapped "I'll return to my poker game!"

She disappeared up the stairs, growling the whole time about how it wasn't fair.

"Sorry 'bout that" Kendall said without looking at Mira, "you okay?"

Mira carefully sat down again and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Wanna play video games?"

Kendall nodded and they decided on Gran Turismo.

"Just be prepared to get beat!" Mira said with a playful glint in her eyes.

"Oh, we'll see about that!"

"By the way, didn't seem like Jo and I were the only ones in trouble last night! James' mom smacked the crap outta him!"

Kendall looked up, frowning.

"What?" he said "well, Ms. Diamond really is a piece of work, but I've never seen her hit James before... she must have been totally pissed!"

"No doubt, she was! But James _was_ pretty drunk..."

Kendall looked at the controller a few seconds, losing terrain to Mira who was now leading the race with five seconds.

"You know James' parents are divorced, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, why? Dude, you almost drove off the track, you're totally losing!"

"James' dad was kind of a player. He drank too much and partied all the time, and in the end he married a woman 15 years younger than Ms. Diamond... Maybe seeing James drunk brought up some bad memories..." Kendall said, before he turned his attention back on the game.

"Yeah, I guess" Mira answered, steering her car through a sharp turn with ease.

"Man, you're way too good at this!" Kendall growled, still trying to catch up with Mira.

They were in the middle of their fifth and final race when they heard Katie yell from upstairs.

"MOM'S COMING!"

They both jumped up, panic spreading in their chests.

"Get up to my room!" Kendall hissed "I'll get your shoes, you have to climb out my window!"

Mira ran up the stairs and nearly bumped into Katie as she was running down.

"I'll grab your spot on the couch and in the game!" she said and smiled.

"Thanks, Katie. See you around!"

Mira entered Kendall's room and waited for him to get up. He threw her shoes through the door and motioned for her to get them on.

Mira jumped around on one foot, trying to put on her shoe. When she put on the other one, it was clearly too big.

"Kendall!" she laughed at her friend "this one's yours, you idiot!"

Kendall sighed and ran downstairs again.

"Hi mom..." he greeted as Mrs. Knight entered the house.

"Hi honey, please help me put the groceries away?"

"Sure, you get the bags to the kitchen, I'll be right there..."

Mrs. Knight shook her head and went to the kitchen. Kendall quickly grabbed the right shoe and practically threw it in Mira's face when he entered his room.

"Well it's a bit hard to see the difference, since our shoes are identical!" he whisper-yelled.

As Mira put on the shoe she sent Kendall an amused look.

"Yeah, except that yours are like FIVE feet longer than mine!"

"Are not! And you have tiny feet..."

"Whatever" she opened the window and crawled out "see you Monday Bigfoot!"

x-x

Mira slid under her covers just before her door opened, and Rowan peeked her head in.

"Mira, dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Go wash up, okay?"

"Okay, I will" Mira said, sending Rowan a timid smile.

The blonde woman smiled back, and went to Mira's bed. She sat down and brushed out a fold on the blanket.

"I know Scott may seem very strict, and that you're not used to punishments like these at home, but he does it because he cares, Mira. I really want you to understand that!"

Mira nodded her head and suddenly felt bad for sneaking out. Rowan was so sweet!

"And if there's anything you want to talk to a grown up about, I'm here for you, okay sweetie?"

She nodded again, feeling even worse for breaking the rules.

"Thanks Rowan" she said, and Jo's mom got up to leave.

Just before she left Mira looked up.

"Uh, there is something I guess"

"Oh? What is it Mira?" Rowan asked.

"Jo and I sort of got in a fight, and now she's not talking to me..."

"What were you fighting about?"

"Umm... it's kinda personal, but I think she's really mad at me!"

Rowan sighed, thinking of her daughter. She could be rather stubborn when she wanted to.

"If I were you, I'd give Jo some space. It may take a few days, but she'll come around. She does tend to stay mad for a while, but she always forgives and forgets, okay?"

"Okay" Mira answered "thanks again, Rowan. I'll go wash up."

"And I'll go place a pillow on your chair!" Rowan said with a crooked smile, that made Mira blush.

x-x

Carlos had been tossing and turning in his bed for hours, and checked his alarm clock for the umphteenth time. 4.30. Well, he thought, might as well get up and grab a shower.

For once he might actually be at school more than two minutes before the bell!

He got in the shower and relaxed into the warm water raining down his back. After getting dressed Carlos realized, that the entire house was still sleeping, and that this left him with a rare opportunity to roam the kitchen for the hidden cookie jar.

Before going down to the kitchen, Carlos tiptoed into his dad's office. Helmet was sitting on the desk, all black and shiny and Carlos almost felt tears gather in his eyes. This was torture! What if he just put it on when he went to the kitchen. He would feel so much more safe in the dark, silent house if Helmet joined the cookie-hunt!

With the tip of his tongue in the corner of his mouth Carlos lifted his beloved helmet off the table, almost expecting an alarm to go off! Nothing happened though, and Carlos happily placed the helmet on his head and gave it a small clap.

"Let's go find some cookies!" he whispered with a small smile and went downstairs.

He left the light off, only using his phone to show the way, and had quickly searched half the kitchen. He opened the cupboard under the sink, not expecting to find anything down there, but to his great surprise spotted the top of a lid behind the box with tabs for the dishwasher. He moved all the soap bottles and the tabs and retrieved the cookie jar.

A great smile spread on his face and he started munching frantically on the oat and cranberry cookies. Better get the jar empty before anyone showed!

Suddenly the light in the kitchen was switched on and Carlos let out a startled shriek. His cry made him spit cookie crumbs everywhere and he quickly scurried along the cupboards and hid under the table. He swallowed the last of the cookies and spotted his mother's bathrobe by the sink.

"Carlos?" she asked firmly, looking around the kitchen.

He pinched his lips tightly and yanked at his helmet so he wouldn't get caught wearing it. It didn't come off! He pulled again, narrowing his eyes from the pain on his hair. With the third pull he felt panic spread through his body and he couldn't help cursing at his dad and his evil ways! Carlos realized he wouldn't get the helmet off by himself, and that coming clean probably was the only thing to do.

"Mami?" he squealed, sounding utterly pathetic.

"Yes, mijo... please come out from the table"

"You knew I was here!" Carlos asked as he exited his hideout.

His mom just looked at him, her eyes glistening with laughter. Carlos was always able to change her mood for the better!

"The secret cookie jar is on the floor and you left a track of crumbs, mijo!"

A sheepish look took over Carlos' face.

"Oh..."

"Carlos?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not allowed to wear your helmet!"

He immediately remembered his problem.

"It won't come off!" he cried, panic evident in his voice.

Sylvia inwardly swore at her husband. She knew he just wanted to scare Carlos, but his ways weren't always the best.

She grabbed onto the helmet and gave it a tug. And then another.

"Ow ow, you're gonna rip my hair out!"

She stopped tugging, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Do you have any idea what it is in the helmet, that's making it stick?"

"Um, it feels like it's just stuck in the sides, and since I can pull up a little I think it's tape..."

"He put double-sided tape inside your helmet?!" Sylvia shrieked angrily, and Carlos nearly jumped from surprise.

"Mom, don't wake him!" he begged "please help me get it off."

"Okay, mijo. Look I don't really know how to do this except to cut your hair under the helmet!"

Carlos turned pale.

"But I like my hair!"

"Well, if you don't want Papi to add to your punishment, you'll let me cut you free!" Sylvia said firmly.

Her voice left no room for discussion, so Carlos obediently sat down and let his mother force a pair of scissors up under the helmet. He closed his eyes, afraid she might accidentally cut him in the ear, but after a few minutes, his mother lifted the helmet off Carlos' head. His hair was a bit shorter in both sides but otherwise looked normal.

"And you promise you won't tell Papi?"

His mother raised an eyebrow and pointed a her son.

"If you promise you won't EVER put on your helmet again when your dad has confiscated it and that you won't search for the secret cookie jar, I promise I won't tell him anything!"

"Okay, thanks Mami!"

Carlos kissed his mom on the cheek.

"Man, I'm totally exhausted now... what time is it?"

"6.40... hurry to bed, and I'll wake you when it's time, mijo."

Carlos smiled and ran to his room. With one jump he was on the bed, and almost as soon as his head hit the pillow he was snoring again.

x-x

James pulled into the parking lot and together with Kendall, Logan and Mira entered the school. They slowly made it down the hallway towards Logan's locker. He needed to do some last minute reading on something, and had requested they get his books first.

"How are you?" Mira asked James, eying him closely.

"Why? What do mean? What's wrong?" he snapped.

How did she know? How could she know? He was so sure no-one was aware how his mother treated him!

Mira blinked a few times.

"It's just... I saw your mom smacked the hell out of you Friday night! Are you okay?"

James felt the knot in the stomach loosen up a bit. No-one knew!

"Oh, that!" he said "yeah, she was seriously pissed! Cops and alcohol and all that! How did Mr. Taylor deal with that?"

He felt somewhat bad for turning the attention to Mira, but he just wanted the subject of his mother out of the way!

"Umm" Mira said looking at the floor "can we not talk about that?"

Fast steps echoing down the hall made the four friends stop and turn around. A furious Camille with Jo in tow was making her way towards the four.

"Shit!" Mira sighed and Logan, James and Kendall all took a step backwards from Mira. She looked at them, and would have been amused, had she not known what was inevitably coming.

Camille let go of Jo and pointed a finger at Mira. As she closed the gap between them she yelled in a shrilly voice, making everybody in the hallway look:

"Mira, I'll make sure it's not just your ass that's sore, got it!"

Mira sighed again, and felt her cheeks blush.

"Well, thanks for putting _that_ out there!" she mumbled and raised her eyes to look at Camille.

The dark-haired girl was now right in front of Mira and she raised her arm up high. Mira prepared herself, willing to let Camille get in the slap.

An echoing smack travelled down the hallway and Mira felt her cheek buzz. She shook her head and blinked a few times.

"Whoa!" James exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"You don't EVER hurt my friend again! Are we clear?" Camille yelled, poking Mira in the chest.

She nodded, feeling everybody staring and whispering.

"Camille..." Logan started, but closed his mouth seeing the cold glare she sent him.

Camille whipped around and walked back down the hallway, grabbing Jo by the wrist pulling her along.

Kendall patted Logan on the shoulder.

"I don't think she ever slapped _you_ that hard Loges!"

Logan shook his head, he agreed!

x-x

Then they heard someone clapping. Mira turned around and spotted Jennifer. She pushed her way through a crowd of people and walked up to Mira, who was clenching her fists.

"Wow!" Jennifer snarled "you're a little red there!"

She poked the red cheek.

"Someone smack you?!"

"Shut up Jennifer!" James hissed.

"And I guess you're a little red here as well!" Jennifer purred and slapped Mira hard on the butt.

She flinched, exhaled and grabbed the blonde girl around the shoulders with both hands. With one long push she crashed Jennifer against the wall and she winced, fear apparent in her eyes.

"Next time you touch me, I'll put you _through_ the fucking wall!"

"MIRA!" an angry voice suddenly screamed "MIRA, STOP THAT IMMEDIATELY! LET GO OF JENNIFER. NOW!"

Mira released her grip and took a few steps back. Kendall and James flanked her protectively as Ms. Grey waltzed towards them.

Mira rolled her eyes and bit her lip as she looked at the irate teacher.

"You just bought yourself a weeks' detention!" Ms. Grey sneered when she was standing in front of Mira.

"Oh, come on! You don't even know what Jennifer did!"

"Which was?"

"She poked me and smacked me in the ass! I'm pretty sure that's also against school policy!"

"Is this true?" Ms. Grey asked, looking at Jennifer.

Logan, James and Kendall all nodded.

"We all saw it, Mira is telling the truth!" Logan said.

Ms. Grey nodded, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Jennifer, you'll join Mira in detention today! Now everyone off to class!"

"WHAT!" Mira yelled, feeling Kendall grabbing her arm "she just got one day of detention and I got a whole week!"

"You pinned her against the wall!" Ms. Grey answered dryly "And you do not question my decisions Ms. Petersen!"

x-x

Ms. Grey turned around and left, and Mira stuck her tongue out at her.

"Seriously!" James exclaimed "she's got a personal grudge!"

"Yeah" Kendall nodded.

"She's such a bitch! But I'll leave her a nice surprise in her car..."

Logan felt something bad coming on.

"Mira" he warned "you're in a bunch of trouble already, don't you think..."

"Come on Logan, you don't expect me to just go along with her vendetta on me without reacting!"

"That's Logan for you" James said patting Logan on the head "always afraid of getting in trouble!"

"Am not!" Logan retorted and shook off James' touch.

"As long as your surprise isn't that you're gonna take a dump in her car, go for it!" Kendall said.

Mira raised an eyebrow at him.

"I may not be very girly, but I don't shit in people's cars Kendall! No, this prank involves trout, onion and the tailpipe of Ms. Grey's car!"

Logan shook his head. This girl really was a scary mix of Carlos and Kendall!

* * *

**Hope you liked it. As always I'd love your opinion in a review :)**

**Thanks to Winterschild11 for letting me use her prank with the fish. More of that in the next chapter :)**

**- Rikke**


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